Ignite My Heart (Ignis X Reader)

Chapter 29

I had hoped his injuries would heal and we'd be back on the road, putting the rite behind us. Unfortunately, the whole thing had left Ignis permanently scarred. He had lost his vision entirely, and he most likely wouldn't get it back. We decided to get him a cane and tinted glasses he could use when he gets back on his feet. The days pass and I continue to watch over him. I manage to sleep regularly, now that I know he's okay. At one point I decided to ask him why he put on the ring in the first place. He explained that Ardyn had come to try and kill Noct. After being distracted by Ravus, Ardyn had shoved Noct to the side causing the ring to fall out of his hand and in front of Ignis. He then made a choice.

"I swore an oath to the King that I'd stay by Noct's side and protect him at all costs... Even if it meant giving up my life." He said. He knew the ring might kill or injure him, but Ignis felt he needed to take that risk. It hurt at first, but the kings showed him their favor for a few minutes, just enough time to get Ardyn away from Noct. A tear fell from his eye that was glued shut, "The last thing I remember seeing... Was you standing over me... Begging me to say something..."

I didn't know what to say to this. Then something occurred to me, "This is all my fault..." I whispered. I was looking down at my hands, not wanting to look at him, "If I had just pulled myself together a little bit, I could have ran to the other side of the bridge with you... Gladio wouldn't have pulled me with him, and I could have taken Ardyn without you having to sacrifice yourself." After a few seconds of almost pure silence, the only sound in the room being my quiet sobs, I felt a hand attempt to touch my shoulder. I look up to see Ignis was doing his best to fight through the pain to comfort me.

"Please don't say that." He whispered. He pulled me in for a hug, "I don't regret my choice, love. I'll be okay."

After a few more days, Ignis is finally able to walk. He asks to see Noct who is still unconscious. We work in shifts. I help Ignis to Noct's room and wait outside the door until Prompto comes to switch with me, or until Ignis decides to leave. One day, I sit on the floor, scrolling through my phone. I hear footsteps coming into range from the stairwell. When the person reaches this floor, I ignore them. Normally, Prompto would call out to me, so I figured it was some random stranger trying to go back to their room or something. It wasn't until the footsteps stopped in front of me that I looked up at Gladio, crossing his arms and glaring at me. I roll my eyes and get up to leave. I guess we'll be switching today. I begin walking down the hall without acknowledging him. I didn't want Ignis to see or hear us fighting, so I made an effort to avoid Gladio ever since he woke up. I wonder how long I can keep this up. If Noct decides to keep going with the journey then we'll be stuck together at all times for who knows how long.

As I near the stairwell I hear him scoff behind me, "Y'know, for a Glaive you sure are pathetic," These words rub me the wrong way he had said something very similar on that first day, when our journey began.

"Piss off, Gladio..." I mumble and continue to leave.

A few more days pass. Eventually, Noctis wakes up and we inform him of what has happened. Each of us begin hanging in his suite at separate times. Sometimes we talk and other times we sit in total silence. After the death of Lady Lunafreya, Noct seems much quieter than usual. I don't think much of it though. A death of a loved one would do that to anybody. We don't stay in Altissia for much long after Noct wakes up. He wasn't seriously injured, so we leave about 2 days later. We get back on our boat and head to a train station in Accordo. We decide to go to a royal tomb hidden in Cartania before planning anything else.

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"The hell if wrong with you?" Gladio demands. I look up from my seat on the train to see him standing over Noct. Noct had been very distant, sitting at the opposite side of all of us, alone.