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[ Ignis nudges the front door open to the house, sliding the door closed behind him. He slides hit boots off and sets his cane near the wall by the front door. With his room being the way it is at the moment, he's quit keeping his cane in there for now.

He moves to the kitchen or rather starts to when he hears Noctis' voice, faintly, coming from his room from the sounds of it. That doesn't sound good and he frowns, already moving quickly to his room, standing in the doorway. A look of concern crosses his face. ]

Noct? Are you alright?

[ He hesitant at first, but he slowly moves into the room, ignoring the paint smells, if rather faintly there. He stops at the edge of his bed and he's completely concerned and worried. ]

[The real answer is no, but Noctis doesn't know how to explain himself afterwards. Instead he makes a faint and indistinct noise so Ignis is alerted to his presence before he reaches out to tug at Ignis' pant leg, to let him know where he's at, which is still on the floor.]

Hey...

[Thank god Ignis can't see the mess. He'll clean up later, but right now he's not sure where to start on what he does have to do.]

[ Just a simple hey, not a yes or no. That does concern him, but it's telling to Ignis, especially when he feels the tug on his pant leg.

Ignis moves to sit down on the floor next to Noctis, letting their shoulders bump together. He doesn't say anything, letting his friend have the floor here so to speak. He leans back against the bed after a moment, quiet. ]

[Noctis doesn't speak right away. He leans against Ignis' shoulder, just quietly allowing the other man's presence to ease the tension he'd been feeling. It's a comfort to just be here, be present and himself, no more memories that don't belong. He'd halfway dreaded another might arrive, triggered somehow by the presence of another, but if anything, no longer being alone has him grounded in the here and now, and all he feels is the disjointed thoughts of his own anxiety. His feelings are his own again.

Gods, but he's tired of this.]

I... there's something I haven't told you. I never talked about what happened in the Crystal. [He doesn't wait; he knows he hasn't. He hasn't told anyone the full truth of it.] Something... changed, in there. Something happened to the ring. Or to me. I don't know.

[There's so much he doesn't know, still, and no way to find out. If Gentiana were here, maybe...]

[ Ignis lets his friend lean on his shoulder, sensing his distress, but knowing Noctis as long as he has, he knows better than to push. Noctis will talk when he's ready to.

He gets an arm around Noctis' shoulders, quietly offering up his silent comfort. He can't begin to guess to what's wrong at the moment so he waits while Noctis gets himself together.

Something's happened to the ring or to him? That's a new one, he hadn't suspected a thing at all. ]

What is it?

[Again he hesitates, reluctant to say the words, mostly because his explanation is so lackluster. The source is unknown, the reason unknown, the true depth of it is a vast and terrifying chasm of which he can't see the end. Ultimately, though, he just forges ahead with it as best he can.]

I've been getting, um. Memories from it. From the kings, I think, or... people who've been around it. Or worn it. I don't know why, or how many I should have... I don't even know if this is meant to happen. Some of them don't even serve a purpose. [He tries to smile ironically, but it turns halfway into a grimace as he does it.] One of them was just- a pie recipe. Don't see how that's gonna help save the world.

[ Memories from the kings from the ring or crystal? That's interesting news indeed and he pauses a moment to let this sink into his system. ]

You saw something that upset you.

[ Pie recipe.

Ignis breath hitches in his throat, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach. No, please don't let it be what he thinks it is. His heart stops for a moment, afraid of the answer, but he needs to ask it. He needs to know if his suspicions are correct from the way how Noctis worded that. ]

... What exactly did you just see?

[He can hear the trepidation in Ignis' voice, and it makes him wince. Of course he'd realize it... he's too smart for this. There's no dancing around this anymore, and a lie would never be believed.]

I... it was you. When you found me at the altar... when you put on the ring. I saw it... felt it.

[Perhaps that's the hardest part. The memory itself had been what he already knew, filling in the details of the story Ignis had shared. But to feel it, to truly understand the depth of his loyalty, love, and fear in that moment. To know he'd felt all of that, for the sake of protecting Noct- that was both humbling and terrifying.]

No.

[ Ignis head swims and he clutches onto Noctis' shoulder tighter. Altissia. Of course, it always comes back to that. Not only did Noctis see that, but he'd felt it too, felt Ignis' own emotions and feelings in those moments.

He wouldn't wish that on anyone. ]

I'm so sorry, [ Ignis tugs Noctis into a hug, to know that he's suffered yet again cause of what he did is disheartening. It was already rough enough to tell his own tale of what happened that day, but for Noctis to see that is a different experience in itself. ] I wish you didn't have to see that.

[ It's upsetting to hear this, enough to let a single tear roll down his cheek. But he doesn't blame Noctis, not after what he's heard. The fault of the ring in this case since he'd worn the thing after all. ]

I don't blame you.

[ One thing is clear, Noctis needs him and he needs Noctis. ]

I'm here, Noct. [ No matter how upset he feels, he wants to be here for Noctis too. ]

You don't have anything to apologize for, geez. [That's the last thing he'd want, especially after that.] That isn't why I told you.

[He catches sight of the tear, pursing his lips, and opts not to mention it, though he does scoot a little closer, ducking his head so he can pretend not to have seen it for Ignis' sake.]

I wish I knew why this was happening... at least then it might not bother me so much. Like, if I had to have these memories to finish all the prophecy stuff, that'd be- [-fine, except it's not fine, so instead-] ...I'd deal with it. But it doesn't feel like there's any point to me getting this memory of yours. And it's... not fair to you, either. [He pauses, then adds,] I'm sorry.

[ He can't help but apologize anyway, that was a nightmare in itself and Ignis hadn't been in the right mind at the time. He was reckless and to know that Noctis saw that upsets him, but he lets it drop, listening quietly now.

Ignis shakes his head a little. ]

No, there's no need for you to apologize either. It's hardly your fault that you saw that.

[ Ignis is the one who wore the ring, therefore, Noctis got to see that cause of that. But he doesn't say anything else on the matter. ]

Will you be alright?

Usually am.

[What's the alternative? The memories leave him shaken afterwards for the most part, but he can usually shrug it off and keep on moving forward like normal. Just another level of uncomfortable and weird that is what "normal" means in his life these days. Another way in which his life spirals out of control.

It's... different, usually. From this. Sudden and unwelcome memories are weird but they don't often make him drop like this. A memory from Ignis was... personal. Far, far too personal. If he has to get more memories, he doesn't want any like that again.]

I didn't want you worrying about me. Got enough to deal with already.

[ Ignis smiles a little at that. ]

You know I can't help but worry about you, Noct. [ He always will worry about Noctis, no matter where the both of them are in life. It's so different here, no daemons or anything of the sort to worry about.

He sighs heavily.

Now Noctis knows why it had meant so much for him to see Noctis for the first time in the VR cafe. It had been such a relief. ]

I'll be alright, it was just... startling to hear. It's not fair to you either, to have seen that. [ Granted, those are Ignis' personal feelings and thoughts, but Noctis shouldn't have had to live through that through Ignis' memories either. Hearing about it had broken Noctis enough, especially when he mentioned that he'd worn the ring. ]

Yeah, well, since when is any of this fair.

[They're well past that, at this point, and he should know better after everything they've endured and lost. He's trying not to be bitter about it, but... it's hard. He just wants to live a peaceful life in the time he's got left, but things keep happening to shake up his calm, and some days it feels like he's going crazy, here.]

You got a fair point.

[ If he hadn't told Noctis before, this would've been more awkward for the both of them. Now he's kind of glad that he did in the first place.

Ignis thinks for a moment, debating and deciding. ]

Did you want to talk about what else you've seen or would you rather take a break? [ If a break is in order, he's thinking Affrugato's, he wouldn't mind dropping by there again. ]

I don't want to talk about them.

[His answer to the first is immediate, though the rest, he's not really sure. A part of him wants to just sit here for the rest of the afternoon. He was supposed to get more done on the wall, but he doesn't even want to look at it anymore. He'll fix it tomorrow or something.

Sitting here will just make everything worse, probably... Ignis is right. It's time to stop for a while, maybe distract himself. That usually helps.]

Got anything in mind...?

[ That's the answer he'd expected, even though he's curious, he won't push his friend to talk about it. He'd rather take a break himself honestly.

He gives another smile. ]

A cafe with cats. [ The very first place that he'd appeared here. Plus, cats always helps and desserts for the both of them wouldn't be a bad idea. ]

[The suggestion makes Noctis relax his shoulders a little, exhaling a soft huff of a laugh.]

Not sure which of us that makes too predictable.

[It's not a no.]

[ He's glad to hear that laugh. ]

If you recall putting Rio in my lap when I first got here, he always greets me when I go.

[ Ignis removes himself from the hug and stands up. ]

[Noctis lets him go, waiting a couple of seconds before dragging himself to his feet alongside Ignis.]

Not surprised. He and Harmony get the least attention- everybody loves the alien cats. Gotta spoil them when they ask for it.

[ They get to Affurgato's just fine without any issues and as promised, Rio runs up to Ignis and he kneels down to carefully pick up the cat. ]

Look at what you've done, [ Ignis' tone a teasing one. ] he's gotten attached to me cause of you.

[ He's not complaining at all. He loves animals so it's nice to have a cat greet him this way. ]

Hey, I just handed him to you, don't blame me that you're irresistible to 'em.

[Cats, or cat-like people, apparently.

Noctis nudges him towards a booth, settling in and brushing his fingers together to coax a cat over to him. No one comes immediately, but in one of the cat trees Harmony lifts her head and blinks sleepily at him.]

[ He huffs out a small laugh. ]

I wonder who I got that from.

[ At the nudge, he moves to the booth, settling himself in and planting Rio on his lap. The cat curls up there and is almost asleep. ]

Lup made a copy of my recipe book, by the way. I wonder if we'll see new items on the menu soon.

[ He has been wondering about that lately, though it's probably taking time to figure out what works with the meat from their world. ]

Heh.

[Noooo comment at all.]

Dunno. It's been the same for a while, though some stuff switches out every month. Maybe she'll get bored and revamp something. I'll keep an eye out for you.

[Ignis is still re-learning how to navigate the kitchen blind, and the food here is always excellent, so he's happy about the idea of getting to eat Ignis' cooking again, albeit by proxy.]

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