M.E. 752

Ignis Stupeo Scientia, the Hand of the King, took his matters tending and delegating to the Crown Prince Noctis very seriously. To hold such a position was both a privilege and an honor for him to have.

His family had been loyal retainers to the Caelum family for many generations. Like many young boys when they come of age, Ignis was taught to never shirk his duties as a retainer for the royal family, never to neglect their masters, nor to show signs of disloyalty ever. Advising and serving was their privilege, something they held to such high esteem. They were proud to serve as retainers for the Caelum family.

Since his days of instruction, Ignis was taught many skills. House cleaning, note taking when advising the king in his royal court, other simple tasks like tea making and cooking. Anything, really.

As of late, Ignis had taken up a hobby of baking. He did enjoy to a degree, but it was another duty of his as the Hand of the future king of Lucis. In the kitchen of the Citadel, the young man was busily mixing flour and other ingredients in a bowl, making some sort of pastry dessert. Pouring the mixture in an oiled cupcake pan of sorts, he crouched down and put it into the oven, which had been preheating beforehand. A brief forty minutes or so, watching his creation attentively, he took it out.

Fresh pastries baked from the oven, the delicious and appetizing smell wafting into his nostrils, taking a nice hefty breath from it. Ignis was pleased with his work, admiring the nice golden brown crust of the pastries, an almost rosy red filling inside with a white cream layer on top. They were almost like mini pies.

The royal chef walked into the kitchen, taking in a smell of the pastries Ignis cooked. "Oh? Looks good."

"I hope you don't mind me using the kitchen."

"Don't mind at all!" The chef chortled with a smile. "You're always baking something. I didn't know you had such a sweet tooth, Ignis."

Ignis took off one of his oven mitts, adjusting his glasses. "It's not me, per se..."

Indeed, this wasn't meant for him. A particular bratty Crown Prince had more of a sweet tooth than Ignis.

During his time in Tenebrae, Lunafreya had taken Noctis into town one night, taking him to the local bakery shop. It was there Noctis encountered this sweet treat. Having a taste of such a delicious and tantalizing treat made Noctis long for it the moment he remembered it upon arriving back in the Crown City. So much so, the eager prince had told his friend about the treat, Ignis trying his hardest to replicate the treat to please the boy.

Alas, through multiple attempts, Ignis hadn't quite figured it out so far. The bespectacled teenager hoped that his current attempt would be the one.

Putting the treats neatly in a tray and packing them carefully in a bag, Ignis gave his thanks to the chef once more and departed the Citadel. Boarding a borrowed escort car, he left through the large metal gates and began to head deeper into Insomnia.

It was the early evening at the moment. Perhaps at about five or six-thirty. Going along the highway and exiting off onto the streets of midtown Insomnia, he arrived at a rather bustling area. Going through a couple of blocks that entered the much richer part of midtown, he pulled into the parking garage of some apartment complexes that were owned by the royal family. A couple of Crownsguard members were posted outside for protection. Though they weren't necessarily needed, the security around the apartment complex was quite high, but King Regis could never be too careful.

Giving greetings to his fellow Crownsguard, Ignis entered the complex with a quick swipe of his keycard. He rode the elevator to the desired floor, about the fifth one, entering the hallway where Noctis' and Y/N's apartment were. The two shared one. For one, it made sense because they were lifelong friends, and second of all, Y/N was Noctis' trusted bodyguard aside from Gladiolus.

Unlocking the door, he opened it, leaving his shoes at the foyer and slipping on some house slippers. Now, it is normal for residents to clean up after themselves once they finish eating or something like that, but it seemed the advice Y/N and Ignis had given Noctis a year prior had fallen of deaf's ears. Upon walking into the kitchenette that connected into the dining and living room, Ignis was appalled with how dirty the place was.

Trash, food, papers, and all sorts of garbage were littered everywhere. From all over the kitchen countertop to the living room's couch. Ignis, a rather disappointed but a somewhat unsurprised expression on his face, merely stared at all the disgusting stains. He really hoped that Noctis would clean up after himself. Normally he'd scold mentally scold Y/N in this situation too, but the L/N heir had a reasonable excuse to escape such severity. He was on leave for a family emergency. It seemed his mother had grown quite sick whilst he was away, so he was taking time off school and staying at his family home in the upper echelons of the Crown City, helping the servants take care of his mother. Of course, he didn't neglect his duties as the Sword of the King, dropping in every couple of days (when he can) to check up on Noctis to make sure he was still doing his studies, keeping up with his training, and the like.

Running a tired hand through his ashy blonde hair, Ignis set his things down to the side and procured himself some cleaning supplies and gloves that sat in the cupboard under the sink. He really hoped Noctis would change his habits.

Ignis re-examined the mess that the Crown Prince had created. He could only sigh once more. He really had his work cut out for him.

---

Crown City - Insomnia, After School Hours

It was the early evening, about 5:30 or so, and the school day had just ended. A particular blonde's annoyed and exhausted sigh was let out as he and his friend walked the street of a somewhat vacant market street in Insomnia.

"Tomorrow's the math test! I'm so bad at math!" He exclaimed, his school bag slung over his shoulder as he lamented the upcoming exam. "No—I'm bad at everything!"

Noctis only chuckled, causing Prompto to look at him.

"Bet you're doin' just fine, though."

"I don't get extra credit for being the prince," Noctis retorted.

The blonde grumbled. In retaliation for the black-haired prince's reply, he elbows him in his shoulder. Noctis only laughed and took off to his right, waving goodbye to his friend.

"Later!"

"Your Highness, please ban exams!"

Laughing once more at Prompto's pleas, he continued to jog down the street, turning another corner. He would've enjoyed a much more leisurely walk down this street if it weren't for a hand to have grabbed the back of his school uniform's collar. Noctis jolted forward a bit, hulking a bit of spit out before whipping his head around to look annoyed at the passerby that had grabbed his blazer, only for his face to relax as soon as he spotted the person.

"You seem to be having fun."

"N/N?"

Standing in the flash with his somewhat fiery red hair, the color having darkened a little as he grew older from childhood, stood Y/N. Sporting a grey hooded sweatshirt with its sleeves rolled up with a rather generic logo of a sports brand, black sweat pants and black sneakers with white decorative accents, a new signature look that took in the form of a dark blue headband that was tied around his head with gold inlays and decorations that his father had gifted to him when he turned seventeen.

"Yo, Noct."

"'Yo' to you too. ...Think you can let go of my collar now?"

"I would. But a good friend of ours has been telling me that you've been skipping training. Care to tell me about that?"

Noctis clicked his tongue as he looked away, as if to hide his guilt. One person only came to mind. Gladio.

"Something tells me that you've been skipping training to go to the arcade. Am I correct?"

"Ah, well, not exactly..." Noctis continued to look away slightly. He was half right. He and Prompto would go to the arcade from time-to-time, but with exams starting tomorrow, the two were actually studying a little.

Keyword here is "were" as they would soon quickly only do it for a little while before relegating themselves to the arcade or elsewhere to hangout. Needless to say, Y/N wasn't quite pleased with this, knowing that the prince would get rather sloppy if he didn't continue daily training. Especially if such war-like circumstances were to occur rather soon if they were to be forced to fight. However, with the current state of things, it didn't seem like the war would reach Insomnia anytime soon.

But that didn't mean that they couldn't be anymore ready than they were and still keep their steel up to date. Shaking his head a little, almost giving Noctis' head a small whack upright, which annoyed the prince slightly, he walked past him.

"Come on, let's go. We'll head back to my place to do daily training before heading back to the apartment. No doubt Specs will be waiting for us there."

"Ugh, can we wait until after exams are over?" The prince groaned in mild frustration.

"Normally I would, but you've been skimping out on training," Y/N said, giving his childhood friend a pointed look.

Noctis opened his mouth to say something, only for him to close his mouth and look away (again). And so, with a heavy sigh, Noctis is led to the upper echelons of the Crown City up to the L/N Manor.

He stared up at the large house with neutral eyes. He's seen such sights before, considering he's lived in the Citadel his entire life and has been to Ignis' abode many times before, as well as having been to the aforementioned red-haired boy's as well. Pushing through the double doors, the two of them strode through the hallway, not a hint of a conversation being said between them. They didn't have to.

Noctis glanced at some of the walls of the corridor, spotting some of Y/N's family photos. The most particular one he spotted was the quartet. Y/N standing rather poignantly and straight between his mother, Ninian, whom was wheelchair bound at the time, and his father, Eliwood. Much like his son, Eliwood sported red hair that held the fiery radiance of the L/N family, which is how they were easily identified, but Ninian on the other hand, was far different than any other woman in the Crown City. According to both Y/N and Eliwood, Ninian is descended from a rather high family of magic users in Niflheim. Both she and her younger brother, Nils, fled from their country to get away from the tides of hellfire and warfare, only for her to be separated from her younger brother; leading Ninian to think he is long gone from this world now. Since the day Noctis met the kind woman, she had always been frail, always appearing rather sickly whenever he saw her. But even still, as young children, seeing the young Noctis and young Y/N play with one another is what kept Ninian in high spirits despite her situation.

The last member of the quartet was Lyndis "Lyn" Caelin, a woman who had come to the Crown City many years ago. He heard from his father that Lyn had come from an old nomadic tribe that often roamed the lands outside the Crown City, specifically in the region of Duscae. However, it would soon be discovered that Lyn was also half-Lucian nobility, as her mother had come from a slightly renowned family of artisans here in Insomnia. Though she possessed a battle prowess like no other that Regis invited her to become part of his Crownsguard, soon leading her to become the second motherly figure in Y/N's life and considered his aunt, even though they weren't biologically related.

Noctis seemed to have been staring at the picture for quite a while that he stopped moving and stood like a statue. Y/N noticed this. Snapping his fingers in front of the prince, Noctis was knocked out of his moment of stupor.

"You okay? You just kept standing there, rigidly. It's kinda creepy."

Noctis shook his head. "Sorry. Was just wondering how your mom has been doing. It's been a while since I've seen her around."

Y/N only gained a bitter smile. "Well, she's always been sickly since you've met her. The doctors say she's doing fine and expect she'll make a full recovery. Soon, I hope."

"That sounds good. I'd like to see her again."

"Yeah. Me, too."

The two continued walking down the hall. But Noctis stared at Y/N for quite a while. His bright blue gaze pointed directly at the back of Y/N's fiery red hair. If there was one thing that Noctis did have envy of his friend, it was the fact that he has a mother. One can say that Ninian has also filled in the role of a motherly figure for Noctis, but because she rarely set foot off the L/N Manor premises, he wasn't as close to her as most would think.

The friend group often joke around that Ignis is more of a mother to Noctis than anyone. But deep down, Noctis was slightly jealous. He, too, wished he knew the motherly love people had.

A couple minutes more and the pair arrived in the spacious training hall of the L/N Manor. It wasn't as big as the Crownsguard training hall that was in the Citadel, but it was still big enough. Letting out a sigh, Noctis raised his hands up over his head and began to stretch, hearing some slight cracks in his bones as if he was allowing himself to try and be more nimble. As much as he is quick, he was never going to be able to be as fast as his red-haired friend, but if he was going to get out on top in this training session, he'd need to think faster than him. That is, could Noctis be able to do it. Unlike often being tied with Gladiolus on many occasions, getting a tie with Y/N was something he'd never been able to do. Noctis' fighting style is a little bit more balanced compared to the rest of his friends, being able to access a variety and a multitude of weapons, and one might think that Noctis would have the advantage because of this magic that he possesses. But the thing was, Y/N's fighting style often focused on overpowering opponents with quick speed and precision, using lightning fast strikes with considerable power to get the upper hand. It was as if Y/N was a mix of Gladio and Ignis. The power to back up his strength like the Shield, and the tactical mind (not as great as Ignis') of the Hand being combined into one. It was—No—is a deadly combo.

As Noctis continued to stretch, Y/N went on over to the nearby weapon locker and opened it up, procuring himself two wooden training blades. They were close to the size and length of short swords.

Tossing the black-haired prince one, Noctis nearly fumbling with it as his coordination of catching was slightly off, Y/N assumed his own fighting stance. A hand put out as if he was wary, the wooden blade in a reverse grip behind his back, he looked like a lion ready to pounce with such a fierce stare. The young prince gulped some saliva down his throat, almost as if he could feel a quaking sensation in his legs that nearly made him fall over. It certainly had been a while since he's sparred with his friend.

Y/N raised an eyebrow. "What? Getting cold feet now, Noct?"

"What? No!" Noctis scoffed. "Just a little tired. That's all."

"Uh-huh. Sure you are."

Y/N made some sort of taunting gesture for Noctis to come and start the spar. Noctis was easily affected by such notions, a little annoyed that he had to come out here in the first place when he wanted nothing more than to just chill out at his apartment. With a cry, the young prince bolted down the glossy wooden flooring, swinging his sword down for a downward slash. The young prince was always prone to using his emotions when it came to fighting, something that was easily able to be exploited. Unlike Y/N, while he was a bit hot-headed himself, he still learned to control his emotions. The key to a well executed plan and strategy was being able to keep your emotions in check and remain calm.

A brief step back and the wooden blade was mere inches away from his face. Gripping his own wooden sword tightly, Y/N pivots onto his other foot and swerves around, landing a powerful slap with the flat side of the blade and slams it against Noctis' back. The black-haired prince elicited a grunt and fell over. A loud thud as he crashed onto the wooden floor, Noctis would roll over onto his back with an annoyed look, Y/N standing over the boy with an unamused stare.

"Come on, you can do better than that, Noct."

"Shut up."

"I ain't letting you go until we actually get a proper spar in."

Clicking his tongue, Noctis quickly recovered and grabbed the blade. He charged at his friend with another loud cry, this time using moves that were a little bit more orthodox and complex. The familiar Caelum Style of fighting was something Y/N was used to, having fought Noctis on a daily basis when they were younger, but there were still moves that were considered tricky and something he had to be wary of.

Four or five consecutive thrusts before he follows up with a powerful underhanded slash, a loud thunk echoed throughout the training hall. Y/N stumbled back a bit. There we go. That was the kind of strike he was expecting from the prince. Putting on a grin, reverse grip once more, Y/N performed an overhead slash that came from the side, colliding with the opposing prince's. Noctis seethed, having prepared for the incoming attack, but miscalculated at how much strength he was expecting from him. It wasn't as strong as Gladio's, Noctis knowing that Gladio's strikes hit like a truck if they were using metal, but blunt weapons, but Y/N was still no joke. Being far quicker and having a little more precision with his strikes, Noctis found himself on the receiving end more than he thought.

*CLACK* *CLACK* *THUNK* *CLACK*

The reverberating noises continued. Noctis dived to the side to avoid another attack. Propelling off his hand and retaining his momentum, he thrusts himself forward with his wooden blade pointed horizontally, a dashing strike being performed. The blunt tip collided with the flat side of Y/N's blade, the thunking noise being prevalent.

As soon as Noctis' feet touched the floor, Y/N smirked. He was simply waiting for Noctis to get in close again. Noctis couldn't react in time. Y/N's foot swept under the black-haired boy's, knocking the prince off balance and onto his back as he let out a loud grunt.

Noctis only groaned. "Ugh..."

Y/N, adding more insult to injury, wiped his covered brow that emitted no sweat. "Phew. I would say that was a good spar. Wouldn't you say, Noct?"

"Piss off..."

Y/N laughed. Shaking his head, he extended a hand out to his friend. Noctis, although begrudgingly, took it and was hoisted up back onto his feet.

"There you go. See? Nothing a friendly spar can't hurt every once and a while."

"That was supposed to be a friendly spar?" Noctis looked at him annoyingly.

"You just need to get better," Y/N said with a shrug. "Anyway, best to head back to the apartment now. Iggy must be waiting a long time."

"Finally," Noctis huffed.

Y/N laughed at Noctis again, much to the prince's chagrin. But he had to admit. Sessions like these weren't bad after a while.

---

Thirty Minutes Later...

Y/N and Noctis boarded an escort car that would take them down to the apartment complex the two were staying at. Well, more so Noctis right now, considering Y/N was staying at home for the time being to watch over his mother.

They bid the Crownsguard escort farewell before walking up to the glass sliding door and entering the receptionist foyer. Riding the elevator up a good amount of floors, they arrived at the apartment, Y/N taking out a keycard to have it scanned at the reader so the door could be unlocked.

A distinct click was sounded out, Y/N opening the door for the two of them, allowing Noctis to enter first, they spotted a pair of black loafers tucked neatly near the door. Those shoes definitely belonged to Ignis. It was even more evident by the chopping sound coming from the kitchenette that was also connected to the living room area. The way the apartment was positioned is that in the foyer, where they were currently at, a short walk down the hallway led to an open doorway on the right side. Two doors on the left were Y/N's and Noctis' respective bedrooms, the door at the end of the hallway perpendicular to them was an extra closet.

Once you turned right and you entered the kitchenette, entering into the dining area and living room area as well, the furniture and decor were rather well put and fancy looking. As expected of a beautiful loft owned by the Caelum family. Regis spared nothing when it came to making sure that the two boys, especially his son, were living rather comfortably when it came to living away from home. The two boys took off their shoes and put on their house slippers, Y/N having a bit of straight posture while Noctis' was far more casual and relaxed.

Upon entering the kitchenette, they could see the ever-so focused Hand of the King prepping dinner for three. His eyes diligently staring and his hands using the knife to chop and cut away at some vegetables at the chopping board. The young didn't even need to look up to acknowledge them. It was like a shared understanding between them all when one of them walked into the room.

"Don't mind me," Ignis spoke.

"No problem at all," Y/N replied, taking a seat at the dining table.

Noctis made an affirmative grunt, coming over to the countertop to see what Ignis was making. Upon seeing the vegetables, however, the young prince instantly made a disgusted face. It was very much known that the Crown Prince hated vegetables with a passion.

"Eegh. I mind the vegetables," Noctis mumbled.

"Don't. Your diet is far from ideal," Ignis spoke, continuing to chop away. He made the vegetables finely sliced so he could make it a little bit easier for Noctis to potentially eat them. "You need to consider the nutritional value of your food and learn to cook for yourself—"

"Yeah, yeah," the prince sighed, cutting off Ignis' droning.

"Remember to wash your hands before dinner. You too, N/N."

"Aye, aye, Mama Ignis," Y/N jokingly said.

Ignis sighed himself. "Please don't refer to me as that."

Y/N snorts, "Psshh, have a sense of humor, Specs."

Amidst the playful banter between the two, Noctis was about to head off to presumably wash his hands, only for him to pause. An almost, slightly, panicked look appeared on his face as he rushed over to the dining room table and crouched down. It looked as if he was looking for something.

"The comics are on the top shelf," Ignis briskly said, whisking away something in a bowl. "Lady Lunafreya's notebook is in the drawer. I suggest you write back soon."

Noctis grunted. "I know."

That was one other thing, a close kept secret between the friends. Noctis and Lunafreya, ever since their separation from that incident, had been keeping close contact with one another by sending a notebook back and forth to each other. One of her dogs, Umbra, would come and go to the prince and his owner to collect the notebook and deliver the response.

The prince didn't like it when others touched the notebook. He kept it special to him and him alone. A private thing for just the two of them. At the very least, he was grateful that Ignis nor Y/N didn't follow their piqued interest to look within the notebook, having the common decency to put it somewhere in a safe place if they found it misplaced around the apartment.

As the prince went to go to his personal room, Ignis noticed something on Noctis' blazer.

"And may I ask where that button's from?"

"My uniform, I guess? Didn't notice," Noctis casually replied. On his blazer, one of the buttons was mismatched.

Ignis sighed in slight exasperation. "No matter. I'll fix it once I get home. Leave your uniform out."

He gave a lazy thumbs up and proceeded on into his room. Ignis sighed again, only for Y/N to laugh at his misfortune of taking care of this unkempt prince. That was when the Scientia heir looked to his red-haired friend.

"I trust you've been taking care of your duties and tasks as well, N/N?"

Y/N paused. Then looked away a little, "I try to."

"...How is your mother doing, if I might ask?"

"She's...doing okay. Like I told Noct, they said she'd make a full recovery, but..."

He trailed off. Ignis didn't need to say anything. He only nodded his head in reply.

Once more, Y/N's mother was in a delicate and precarious situation. While the doctors say she's stable, Ninian had always been frail. Wheelchair bound before she had ended up bedridden as of currently. While dutiful when it came to his tasks, Y/N was one to neglect them when it came to the wellbeing of his family members. Particularly his mother. Normally, Ignis would chastise such behavior, but knowing how important his mother was to his red-haired friend, Ignis was far more forgiving about such important tasks. He couldn't blame him.

He'd be the same way as well. Ignis resumed back to his work, a hopeful smile appearing on his face as he tried to brush away the negative atmosphere that had momentarily taken place.

"That sounds wonderful. I hope the recovery goes off without any problems."

"Yeah. Me, too."

A couple or so minutes went by and Noctis returned to the dining table, where everything had been finished and properly furnished with their garnishes and what not. Noctis' face instantly reeled in disgust as he saw the finely chopped carrots that were on his plate. In a separate small bowl, there were pieces of roasted garlic and fresh cut tomatoes sitting on a nice bed of lettuce.

The only thing that did catch Noctis' eye were the nice slabs of meat that were there, coated in a soy sauce barbeque coating that gave off an absolutely delicious aroma. But knowing the two friends that were with him here, Noctis wouldn't be able to get away with just eating his favorite pieces here at the table. Settling themselves down at the table, the trio quickly began to dig in. Ignis kept a watchful eye on Noctis' plate, making sure that the prince would eat his veggies to ensure a nutritional palate. If he were to leave Noctis alone to his own devices, no doubt he'd just be living off of cup noodles and other fast food joints. At least Y/N had some semblance to prepare his own meals for the two of them here whenever he was around.

A good twenty minutes into their meal, they were completely stuffed. Thankfully, Noctis did eat some of his vegetables. Though he left a good amount of lettuce leaves and some slices of tomatoes. But it did satisfy Ignis' chiding for a moment.

Noctis relegated himself to the sofa, holding his stomach. "Uuugghhh... I'm stuffed."

"You certainly did eat a lot," Y/N said. "At the very least, you did eat some vegetables."

"And I regret every second of it," the black-haired prince remarked.

"Balanced diet, Noct. Balanced diet."

"Then I suppose you don't have room for dessert?" Ignis chimes in.

Noctis instantly sat up. Clad in his usual red apron he wore for tidying things up and tending to duties in the kitchen, Ignis strolled over to the pair at the sofa to offer up some homemade sweet treats he had recently baked today. Noctis' eyes lit up upon seeing them, these desserts being the ones he had told Ignis about constantly during his brief time in Tenebrae. He wondered if the ashy-blonde friend of his was able to get the correct taste right today.

"I tried using a different type of honey," the spectacled teenager spoke, putting the tray on the coffee table.

Y/N hummed. "Thanks for the treat, Iggy."

"Of course." Ignis then looked to the prince, who was now chowing down on one, "How is it?"

"Hmm... It's...not quite the same," Noctis murmurs with his mouth full. "It was sweeter, and flakier."

"Really? And you don't think this is sweet enough?" Y/N questioned. "I've got to admit, this is already too much for myself."

Noctis smirks. "Weak stomach."

Y/N deadpans. "How does that have anything to do with me not liking too sweet things? I prefer spicy food, anyway."

"You want spicier treats?" Noctis looks at his friend with slight disgust.

"I didn't say that."

Ignis ignored their light argument. "I see... Perhaps a pie crust will do the trick."

"This is good though. Aren't you going to have one, Ignis?" Noctis asked.

The Hand nods, "Of course. Coffee, you two?"

"Yes, please. Coffee would be perfect with this," Y/N nodded eagerly. Ignis made a mean cup of coffee.

---

A brief hour or so of eating the sweet treats and chatting away, Ignis realized that it was time for him to set off. Y/N had gotten up as well, still considering himself on leave for a bit longer to be with his mother. He wanted to be there when she made a full recovery, after all.

Noctis was now seeing the two off at the foyer of the apartment. The two boys slipped on their shoes, Ignis turning around to give his usual spiel of advice and what not.

"We'll take our leave so you can set to studying. I know I've told you before, but be sure to close all doors when you go out."

"Just because we've got the safety and security of the Crownsguard to handle all this, doesn't mean you can't be extra careful," Y/N added.

Ignis nodded. "Indeed. Locking the front door alone won't suffice."

"Uh-huh." Noctis' tone of voice sounded rather uninterested and annoyed.

"Also, remember to separate your garbage and don't just leave it in your room. If you think someone will come by to pick it up, you're mistaken."

"Uh-huh." Noctis' dismissive tone pestered.

Ignis gained a stern expression, "Noct."

Noctis sighs, "Yeah, yeah."

"At least take it a little bit seriously," Y/N said, rubbing his temple whilst shaking his head. "His Majesty is putting a great deal of trust in you for being able to live out here in the city."

"He isn't wrong, Noct. Please, try to understand," Ignis says with a sigh. "If you can't prove yourself capable of living alone, you'll be moved back to the palace. And..." The Hand dug into his bag and pulled out a rather lengthy set of paperwork. "This is a political report. Please have a look at it. I'll be by again later to explain in detail. I'll send a copy to you as well, N/N."

"Uh, right." Y/N rubbed the back of his head. As much as he didn't like looking over reports such as this, he'll have to be prepared soon. It's the position that he'll have to inherit from his father in the future.

The Crown Prince takes the report from his advisor's hands, "Can it wait till after the exams?"

"I understand your studies are important. But you are first and foremost the successor to the throne. Do bear that in mind." He then turned to Y/N, "And N/N, do be sure you aren't slacking yourself. I understand taking time off school to care for your mother, but do remember your other responsibilities."

"Yeah. Got it." Y/N gave Ignis an assured stare. He knew how important his duties were.

Ignis pushed up his glasses. "Well, if that will be all, I suppose we ought to be going. Noct, do take care of our reminders—"

"Yeah, yeah, will do," Noctis interrupted rather rudely.

The Hand stared at his childhood friend for a moment. Ignis nodded slowly. While he understood Noctis had his own set of worries on his plate, he still wishes for him to take these matters seriously. That dismissive behavior really irked him.

But, Ignis was understanding. He supposes it was alright to give Noctis a little bit of leeway right now, considering that exams were coming up real soon.

Y/N and Ignis take their leave, the ashy blonde-haired boy offering to give Y/N a ride back home to L/N Manor. He accepted. Now it was just the two of them in the car. A bit of a small silence between the two. A rather long one.

Ignis broke it, "I apologize if I came off a bit rude with my statement earlier."

"No need to, Iggy. I get it," Y/N said, his cheek resting against his fist, elbow propped up on the side of the door. "My mom is important to me, but you're not wrong that I still have my duties to take care of."

"Even still, I do fear that I may overstepped my boundaries a little—"

"Ignis, really, it's fine. I get it, you're just concerned. Just as you are with Noct and Gladio. We're really grateful for that, you know?"

The spectacled teenager fell silent for a moment. "...I do know. I cherish you three deeply as well."

"Of course. We're brothers, right?"

"...Yes. Brothers," Ignis said with a small smirk.

---

Like any normal day, Ignis had set off from his home (dressed accordingly, of course) and was headed to the Citadel. They were having another meeting in the Council's Chamber, most likely certain to discuss more of the oncoming threat Niflheim continued to pose. It seemed that they began to grow even more dangerous by the minute.

Once he had parked his car and took the elevator to one of the higher floors, Ignis exited the lift with a notepad in hand. His coat neatly folded on his other arm, he proceeded down the hallway, his loafers clicking along the way as if it were rhythmic music to his ears. Though he perked up, spotting a particular red-haired boy standing outside the Council's Chamber, properly dressed in his own black suit. Y/N yawned, looking like there were some darkened bags under his eyes slightly.

"N/N?"

"Hmm? Oh, hey, Specs," Y/N lazily greeted.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned, "I thought you would be attending school today?"

"Ah, that was the plan. But father ended up being busy regarding Kingsglaive manners, so he asked me if I could attend in his place today."

Ignis pushed his glasses up. "I see... What about Miss Lyndis?"

"Aunt Lyn? Ah, you know her, under detail from Clarus. Something about an assignment with Cor recently too. Though, they didn't spare me the details of it."

"Hmm. With certain arisings regarding Niflheim, I shouldn't be surprised," Ignis murmured. "Well, shall we carry on then?"

"Yeah."

"I do hope that you won't fall asleep during the meeting."

"Hey, I was looking at that copy of the political report last night," Y/N quickly said for his defense as to why he was slightly tired.

"And? What do you make of it?"

"Concerning, to say the least. The Niffs having a new weapon? Very concerning."

"Indeed. We can only pray that His Majesty will be able to finish this war quickly."

Soon enough, the other Council members had arrived and they all entered the chamber. They quickly gathered into their seats, both Y/N and Ignis sitting next to one another as they were more so observers than they were actual Council members. They began to chatter amongst themselves, the future heirs of their respective positions remaining silent.

Instantly, the two were engrossed and listening, attentive to the conversation presented before them. Talks of Niflheim's proceedingly improving Magitek technology, which was recovered from the ancient and lost civilization of Solheim; many of its ruins were scattered across the world of Eos. A recent surge of energy, a rather gigantic blast of power having been detonated on the outskirts of one of their territories, Galahd and how it completely and utterly annihilated almost everything in its path. It was at this point, the territory of Galahd had been lost and was now under Imperial rule. Many members of the Kingsglaive, most of its members being refugees from these territories now under Imperial rule, were unhappy about these recent chain of events. It was quite clear among the Council's faces. They were worried, fearful of what might happen once Niflheim had perfected the technology of Magitek and made their way onto Insomnian borders again.

Should that happen, Lucis may truly lose the war. Something that they couldn't afford to happen at all costs. Although some had some doubts about Regis' ruling efforts and whether or not he was doing all in his power to win, they still put their faith in him. He was—still is—their king.

The Council continued to discuss the situation on the warfront, more so how the Niff's terrifying use of the Magitek technology was continuing to route a majority of their standard forces. It seemed like that not even the Kingsglaive were being able to keep up with how much the onslaught was taking. The Council seemed privy on sending out Eliwood and Lyn, but not without Regis' permission, of course. Ignis looked to his red-haired friend with silence. Despite that calm and composed nature surrounding him, it was very much known that beneath the stern look in Y/N's dark blue eyes, they were quivering a little. The very thought of his father and aunt being set out to war and perhaps never coming back irked him to a degree that he had unknowing shuffled in his seat in slight nervousness. But with a steady gaze, Y/N continued to listen.

Lucis' Council then moved onto the topic of somehow being able to harness the power of Magitek. Some of the Kingsglaive were able to salvage some beaten up Niflheim weaponry and a few pieces and scraps of the Magitek Troopers. Despite all their testing, the technology was rather complex. Magitek was made with the combination of both technology and magic, that fusion between the two seemingly impossible in the beginning. Not to say that Magitek wasn't possible for Lucis, they had their own variation of it, albeit it wasn't necessarily Magitek when it was more so sucking in the many elemental fissures and crystals that were present throughout the world, using those elements to conduct it into their weapons to make them much more powerful. The difference between Lucis' and Niflheim's advancement in technology were staggering. The Niflheim technology was built from the foundations of the ancient civilization, Solheim, and further expanded it with the use of Daemons and magic. As to how they were able to decipher the ancient Solheim text, no one knows. But as of right now, Lucis was far from cracking the secret as to how Magitek is utilized.

The Council's meeting was soon adjourned. Both Ignis and Y/N were the first to leave, proceeding on out to the hall and turning the corner, presumably preparing to head out to Noctis' apartment. It seemed the meeting had dragged out far longer than they had anticipated.

"Ignis. Y/N." A calm, but commanding voice called out to them. It was very recognizable. King Regis, Noctis' father, of course.

"Your Majesty," Ignis spoke for himself and Y/N. The two stood at attention.

Regis, however, the ever-so benevolent and caring ruler, simply smiled and held his hand up. The two retainers of the Crown Prince relaxed.

"How is Noctis?" He asked.

"He has begun his final exams," Y/N answered. "We encouraged him to study thoroughly."

"But his level of preparation is...questionable," Ignis said. "As for his life away from the palace, I've expressed my concerns for his dietary balance."

"But even that of itself has fallen deaf on his ears," Y/N added rather sheepishly.

Regis let out a light chuckle. "Thank you."

"But of course." Ignis bowed in respect. His eyes soon hovered over to the cane Regis held. "Has the Wall taken such a toll on Your Majesty?"

"It would appear so," Regis replied, a bitter smile appearing on his face. He then turned to look out of the large glass paned window that overlooked the city in its entirety. "Only the king can create the Wall and protect his people. If something foul should befall me, the heir of Lucis must take the throne. But I will end this war before that. I leave Noct in all of your care."

The King of Lucis had said this with a prideful conviction, that same kind smile replacing that bitter one that showed the quality of the benevolence that he was known for. He wasn't just addressing Ignis at this moment. He was addressing Y/N as well, including Gladiolus and anyone else that cared deeply for his son. Such warmth being displayed in his eyes, Y/N and Ignis could only bow in gratitude and respect once more.

"Understood."

Such simple words carried the amount of emotion they needed to say.

---

Three Days Later...

Amidst the bustling streets of Insomnia, two young men wandered through the crowd. Dressed in rather normal clothing, one that wouldn't really show they were part of the royal court of Lucis, they looked like they were ordinary citizens of the Crown City.

However, they were looking for someone. A particular black-haired prince. It seemed he had been skimping out on training again. 

Shuffling through the crowd and arriving at a market street, they were positioned in front of an arcade. It was a fairly popular one that the prince liked to frequent. One of the two young men here had accompanied Noctis here often too.

The sliding doors to the arcade opened and the two entered. Upon entering inside, the sounds of clamor and energetic noises filled their ears completely. Multiple colorful lights filled their eyes, enticing rewards from the numerous claw machines about, different video game booths that had the flashing words of "insert coin" being ever so prevalent in the eyes of children as they scampered about to play whichever machine they wanted to use next.

A store clerk walked up to them, asking if they were going to indulge in the various machines. But the two only politely shook their heads and said that they were looking for someone. With that out of the way, the two wandered in for a bit before they eventually found the black-haired prince they were looking for. Noctis was standing at one of those on-rail shooters, his face showing an expression of irritation and anger. Pressing down on the trigger a couple of times, laser-sounding noises could be heard from the game, the black-haired prince shooting at some undead creature. Unfortunately for him, the creature had gotten the upperhand in-game and slayed him, killing his character and showing a blood red screen with the words "Game Over" popping up.

"Damn it!" Noctis grunted, shoving the gun controller into the terminal.

Prompto, holding both of their school bags, looked at him with a concerned expression. "What's wrong? Did ya bomb the test?"

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Gladiolus' voice soon entered, booming in Prompto's ears.

The blonde jumped in slight fright, "G-Gah...! We were just heading home!"

Noctis, however, lazily turned his head over and blinked a couple of times. "Gladio? N/N?"

By now, having taken a minute to register, Prompto's eyes adjusted to the slightly towering figure of Gladiolus Amicitia. And his eyes darted over to Y/N with a rather surprised look. Y/N only gave him a look that said "I'll explain later," looking at the black-haired prince with a somewhat annoyed stare.

"You've been skipping again. I thought I told you not to do so?" He earned no response, which caused Y/N to roll his eyes and grab Noctis by his collar. "Come on, let's go."

"O-Ow! H-Hey—!"

"Oh, shut up already. This is your fault, you know. I'll see you tomorrow, Prompto. Don't worry about Noct here."

"Uh, right..." Prompto only sweat dropped.

Never a dull moment between these friends.

---

Subjected to his friends' torment (probably), Noctis was dragged along with Y/N and Gladiolus. Unlike going to the Sword's abode to train there, or the Crownsguard training hall, they were instead taken to the Shield's home to train. Gladiolus had a sprawling backyard of considerable land to spar in.

The house itself wasn't as modest and high end as the red-haired boy's, but that was because Gladiolus' family had chosen to live in a much more suburban area. It was still a fancy looking area, where many other rich folk and old nobles resided in, but it definitely wasn't the upper echelons of the Crown City. But Gladiolus and his family were rather content with the current living quarters. They were far more conservative and focused on making sure the scions of the family were living comfortably rather than fancily and pampered. A majority of those that lived in the upper echelons were "pompous asses" as Y/N and Gladiolus called them.

Though Y/N and his family were more of an outlier when it came to these pompous asses. While they did have servants and lived in a pampered manner, Eliwood still advocated for his son to learn how to think for himself and take care of himself. Especially considering where his mother had come from.

Pushing through the iron gate and heading up the brick stairs to the patio, they entered through the front doors and went into the foyer, which also leads into the dining room. And across the dining room led into the living room, a rather lavish maroon leather couch laid, a nice fifty-inch flat screen TV across from it, a glass coffee table in the middle of the carpet where you could rest your feet up for comfortability. Decorative paintings adorned the walls, potted plants to add a bit of vibrancy and life, a small cabinet held cutlery and plates, a little bit of a wine collection underneath where the plates were being held. To the left of the dining room were the stairs that led up to the second floor of the house, where the family would retire to their bedrooms for the night. There were other hallways and areas that led to the kitchen and basement and what not, but that wasn't why they were here.

"Iris isn't home yet," Gladiolus told Noctis, "she still has school."

"If you were looking for her as a scapegoat, don't bother with that." Y/N gave Noctis a pointed look.

"I wasn't..." Noctis murmured.

Gladiolus spoke again, "You've been skipping practice again. Hope you haven't gotten too rusty."

The prince said nothing.

Opening the sliding glass door that led to the backyard, the bigger of the three grabbed some wooden swords that were akin to greatswords. Large and undaunting with power is what greatswords were described to be. And considering Gladiolus' build and muscle structure, he could wield a majority of the greatswords that were made with ease. However, since these were wooden ones, they were a little bit more leeway into what could be wielded by a normal person.

Twenty minutes in, Noctis was being almost ragdolled all over the place. Having to defend from his Shield or Sword was one thing, but having to defend from both of those two coming at him all at once, that was an entirely different matter. An almost different beast to entangle with all together, so to say.

Noctis grunted, a loud wooden clack as he took on the brunt of a powerful slam from Gladio's wooden greatsword. Simultaneously, he had to endure another, Y/N jumping high over the broad shouldered man with great acrobatic skill and spun forward into a somersault, charging his momentum into one, single powerful slash onto the ground. The black-haired prince just narrowly dodged, his legs getting entangled with one another as he nearly tripped and fell, but he recovered quickly as he scrambled to get up. Noctis was panting heavily, the twenty minutes that had occurred while sparring with his friends having taken a rather big toll on his stamina. And considering that his two friends had much more rigorous training, especially Y/N, he was always left on the disadvantage.

The black-haired prince looked as if he was retreating. Gladio could tell something was wrong with Noctis, judging by the way his shoulders were much more tense than usual.

"Focus, Noct!" Gladiolus roared to the top of his lungs.

Though instead of coming back into the fight, Noctis jogged away for a little before coming to a stop. Stabbing the end tip of the wooden broadsword into the ground, he sat cross legged, huffing and puffing.

"I can't," the young prince said, an erratic tone in his voice.

"Hey, we aren't done yet, so don't give up so soon." Y/N began walking over, his wooden sword casually resting on his shoulder.

"He's right. The King's counting on you," Gladio said.

"I know!"

The two raised their eyes at him, a bit taken aback by Noctis' sudden jump in aggression of his voice. Though it didn't seem to be actually pointed toward them, the tone that Noctis was conveying made it hard to distinguish who his anger was really directed towards.

If there was anything the two knew when growing up, Noctis had trouble sharing emotions, but when it came to the aggressive side of things, he was very much one to display it without any trouble at all. Then again, when growing up as a social recluse as a child and pretty much an introverted individual, pent up anger is bound to be something that'll explode when they've had enough. It seemed the time was now.

Being the friends they were, Y/N and Gladio walked up to the prince and sat next to him. Though the prince didn't look at them, his face said it all. A couple days earlier, more like yesterday, actually, after the first day of testing, Prompto and Noctis were walking down the usual streets to hang out at the arcade for a little bit before retiring for the day. Only for the two to spot King Regis on a nearby screenboard that displayed him at a garden of sorts that a news outlet was giving out. It would seem normal, yes, but it shocked Noctis greatly.

Not because he saw his father on the screen. But because he saw his father holding a cane. The last time he had even seen or spoke with his father, he didn't carry such a thing. Could get around and walk around just fine without the assistance of a walking stick. And yet, seeing his father carry one, he couldn't help but wonder. Was his father going to die soon? Was his time near? Was he to become the new king of the Crown City at just the age of sixteen?

Such thoughts, such trivialities, such problems run amok with his mind. It wasn't just that, however, it was the event that he did succeed the role from his father, it was the possible whispers he could hear from the masses and the royal guard.

'Is the young prince even worthy enough?'

'Can he do the job well?'

'Is he responsible enough to handle the diplomatic responsibilities that came with his title?'

'Would he even be able to finish the war that they seem to be losing already?'

Such frivolous thoughts running haywire throughout this brain that it stressed him a great deal, caused a big argument with one of his greatest friends that he lashed out at him. Despite not wanting to think about it, Noctis had to admit, he did a little poorly than usual (at least, that's what he thought) on this test because he couldn't help but think about his father and his already seemingly deteriorating health. He was scared. Nervous. Anxious. Fearful. So many words to describe the feeling of somehow taking up the role of king should his father pass away suddenly, the surmounting amount of pressure that would soon be thrusted upon him.

It was such a sickening and worrying feeling for him that he actually felt like that he might have thrown up. He was thinking about it so much that he had barely gotten any sleep today. He loved his father dearly. That much was—is—certain. But to take such a position so soon... It was more than he could take.

After a few seconds of silence, Noctis finally cracked and spoke. His voice is now quiet.

"I know... I know. I can't become the king like this... But...I don't wanna think about my dad dying."

Gladiolus and Y/N stared at him for quite a while. Almost what seemed like ten minutes.

Y/N, however, was the first to speak. He let out a deep sigh, giving Noctis a small, but somewhat held back slug of a punch to his shoulder.

"Ow—What the hell—!?"

"If you had these doubts, why the hell didn't you say any of this to us?"

"..." Noctis held his tongue.

"Isn't that what we're here for? To support you? If you felt any sort of doubt in the position you're in, you could talk to us?" Y/N almost let out a bitter laugh. "If you keep that shit all bottled up inside you, what the hell are we here for then? Come on, Noct, give yourself, and us, more credit than that."

"He's not wrong, you know. You have what it takes," Gladio said, finally his turn to speak, emphasizing on the 'you' part. "Sure, you're a goddamn brat, but you've got guts. Determination. Drive. But everyone has their lowest points. That's why we're here."

"Exactly. We're not just your guard, Noct. We're your friends. We've known each other since childhood, birth at this point. We're not doing our jobs just because we have to. We're also doing it because we WANT to as well. So if you're going to shut us all out, what the hell are we even doing here anyway? How in the hell are we even friends?" Y/N finally turned to his friend, "We aren't just your royal subjects. We're here to lend an ear whenever you need it. If you need support, we'll give it to you. You just have to ask."

"Not even ask, just know that we do. We've got your back, Noct. We always will." Despite his tone sounding rough, Gladiolus was speaking with kindness.

Noctis had sat there for some time before he eventually smiled. He then looked between the two of them and nodded.

"Yeah... Right. Thanks, guys. I... I really needed it."

"No problem," Y/N grinned. "Now, get up. One last spar."

"And this time, be focused," Gladiolus commanded. "Got to make sure you're ready when you're king and all."

"And we'll be right there with you," Y/N affirmed.

A hand was extended out to the Crown Prince. And with a firm grasp, his own grin on his face, Noctis grabbed it and was hoisted up.

Any doubts he had were soon washed away. Reassurance from his friends certainly do wonders for someone. He truly had the greatest of friends there was.

[Chapter IV] | Princely Doubts