The Count Down To New

[thechurbyboxmod]

Sometimes feelings build up. Sometimes all it takes is a resolution, some liquid courage, and the rush of celebration to break through the silence. This is what happens on those nights



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[faithfulsupport]

He made a disgusted face. "I have no intention of doing such a horrible thing to seafood."

Ignis knew he had to keep his eyes on the road but the mental image kept replaying in his head. "Maybe I should stop for a moment."

That would allow him to get that out of his head and get himself an Ebony. There was a rest stop about half of a mile up the road so he would do that then.

[skyward_eyes]

Yeah, a moment for them to clear their heads of that horrible thought of a taste.

"Can we take a bit of a walk too?"

He coudl stand to stretch his legs.

[faithfulsupport]

"A walk would be wonderful." Ignis replied as he pulled the car over. They were further along than he'd thought. "Almost there." He pronounced as he got out of the vehicle. There seemed to be a flight of stone stairs leading down which invited curious people to find out what was down there as well as a path to the water itself.

But he was grabbing an Ebony because he wasn't driving at the moment.

[skyward_eyes]

Wouldn't it? Nida smiles. When the car stopped he grabbed his own drink and climbed out. And oh how nice it was to be in the world, under the open sky. How beautiful.

"It's so wonderful out here."

[faithfulsupport]

"It is rather lovely." Ignis replied. His legs were suddenly pumping blood through them again which he'd somehow forgotten how they'd worked while driving and keeping them basically in one position constantly.

"Fresh air is always a good idea."

[skyward_eyes]

"I mean, I'm not sure I've dealt much with non-fresh air, but you sound about right," Nida answered as he stretched a little before circling to Ignis. "Guide me."

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis laughed slightly at Nida's words but watched the other man intently as he stretched. Once he moved nearer, he smiled and slowly wended his way down to the shore. "Be careful, as the rocks might be slippery."

[skyward_eyes]

"Oh, is that true?" Nida asks, tilting his head. "Guess I'll need to hold your hand to keep balanced.

[faithfulsupport]

That comment earned a smile and Ignis moved over to where Nida was. Without a second thought he lifted his hand to the other. "I'd be delighted to be of assistance." Which of course meant holding Nida's hand too, but he didn't say that out loud.

[skyward_eyes]

As if they hadn't held hands the night before. But it was still nice.

"You have lovely hands," he says once he takes the hand into his own.

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis blushed at the compliment. To him they were simply hands. "Why thank you." So when their hands touched, he tried to keep his focus on holding on and letting nothing happen to Nida as they moved slowly towards the rocks he'd cautioned about. Some of course were covered with moss and sea spray which meant they were even more slippery.

"Please watch your step."

[skyward_eyes]

Nida wasn't actually worried about his balance of course. Trained guards were supposed to be good at things, and being Glaive as he was, he could recover easily from a fall. But he still took exaggerated care, mostly to buy as much time as he could.

"Do you come here often?"

[faithfulsupport]

"No, but we should certainly change it into a habit to do so."

Ignis didn't take days off. He didn't snag Prompto's camera and make a run for it to get out of meetings like a certain royal did. He also wasn't one to play sick so he could put off things if negotiations were going to be a pain in the arse or just because he didn't feel like getting out of bed.

But now Nida had come into his life and he knew he needed to make time for things and people that were important.

[skyward_eyes]

Oh, was that the goal? How interesting. Habits away from the Citadel weren't one that he expected to get into.

"You think this is cool, to do again?" Nida has to be curious. "You come here often?"

[faithfulsupport]

Naturally the advisor hadn't planned on anything like this either which included not sneaking away or trying to get away from the Citadel. And while they could definitely convene there in Ignis' suite of rooms, people at the Citadel would most certainly talk.

And Ignis worried about any negative gossip about Nida with the nosey courtiers who would certainly think nothing of besmirching someone's reputation just because they were bored with their own lives. "Coming to the ocean is always a good idea but I personally haven't been here in some time."

[skyward_eyes]

Nida hardly cared much about the gossip of courtiers. He's just a guard, and he knows nobles and others would talk. Talking was absolutely a mess. And his job was to not listen when it wasn't a possible threat.

"Have you been since the darkness came?"

He doubted it.

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis shook his head. "No, we haven't had the time to come back." So much of their efforts had gone into rebuilding and reorganizing. And there'd been no end to the stream of well wishers and people offering their congratulations to a shaken returned king and royal retainers.

"But with the light returned, hopefully we'll have more time."

Plus he had no doubt Noct would come for fishing shenanigans.

[skyward_eyes]

Well, that's a thought.

"Perhaps you should suggest that the royals take a brief break. No one would hold it against them."

And Nida would be happy to serve as an additional guard for that.

[faithfulsupport]

"I'm sure the king will be scheming to take a break, if he hasn't already." Noct was a good king, but there were days when everything got to him. And those were the days even Ignis suggested that he get his mind off of things and go fishing off of the royal yacht and take the Queen with him.

But there was no way he wanted the four of them in one place as of yet because he wanted to get to know Nida a lot better for his own personal selfish reasons.

[skyward_eyes]

Well, Nida's job might require him to protect the king. But he did want to steal the time he could with his new companion.

"Well, I hope he has that chance. He works so hard for all of us. So do you."

Be wonders how many people notice just what Ignis does.

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis' face turned red as he heard he worked hard. To him work was work and he did what he needed to do in order to get things done right the first time. And many were the nights that he stayed up worrying or had been woken up if Noct was having a nightmare and didn't want to wake the Queen. And neither of them spoke of those matters to her because that had been the king's wish.

"All of the credit belongs to Noct. He is the king after all."

[skyward_eyes]

“His Majesty is not the only one who works with the people, or organizes things, or any of that,” Nida dismisses. And while the people of the city didn’t need to know all of this, those who worked there saw it.

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis only smirked but didn't answer because he simply preferred to keep Noct in the spotlight and not himself. Even the king would acknowledge the truth of Nida's words but the advisor worked behind the scenes to keep the royal engine running smoothly.

"He isn't half bad at those things and will improve the more he does them."

[skyward_eyes]

“And he will always have strong and wise advisors.”

Especially with Ignis at his side. It was nice to consider anyway.

“You are a wonder.”

[faithfulsupport]

He just laughed it off because he wasn't going to take credit for anything here. "That he will." But of course he wasn't considering himself into the equation, Noctis would simply have advisors at his side. Ignis would always be there to help as much as he could, though he had been cut some slack since the Queen did a lot of the work with him as much as she was able.

But Nida's comment got a look and he smiled. "As are you."