Renovating the Heart (FFXV)

XXXVIII) In the Wrong

"Keep the lid on the rice, Rue, or it'll never steam."

"How do you know when it's done?" she huffed, stepping away from the pot on the stove.

Ignis sighed, chopping up the chickatrice meat he'd cooked minutes before and shaking his head. Knowing she wouldn't get an answer, Rue slumped back against the counter and stared at her phone, waiting for a text from Eren. It never came. She took a deep breath and put her phone away. He'd be alright with her seeing her friends just this once. Curious, she turned back to Ignis's cutting board, watching him multitask between shredding meat and stirring the sauce in the pan on the stove. She combed her fingers through her hair, glancing toward the living room where Rayne and Prompto were furiously tapping their phones in some bizarre game battle. Gladio and Noctis watched on, bored, but left with nothing else to do while they waited.

"Should I set the table?" she asked. Ignis glanced up, nodding.

"If you know how."

"You're so rude today," she scoffed, taking an armful of wide bowls from the cabinet, quickly setting them all around the square wooden table. She just as easily set out the silverware and uncorked a bottle of wine. Rayne and Ignis both loudly protested her taking the first swig from the bottle before setting it at the table, but she flipped them off and carried on searching for glasses.

"Are you almost done?" Noctis called from the couch.

"Give me one moment more," Ignis murmured, stirring in a pinch of salt before lifting the dishes off the counter and bringing them to the table. Rue wished he had a stupid apron to complete the look. Something with "Kiss the Cook" written across the front, maybe. But in a tasteful font, of course; it was for Ignis, after all. Maybe it needed a skull or two as well, just to really top it off. Ignis seemed to like those. Snickering to herself, Rue shook her head and followed him to the table, sitting between Gladio and Prompto.

"So, got any plans for the wedding?" Prompto asked with a grin, elbowing Rayne. She rolled her eyes, and much to Rue's surprised, her cheeks began to redden. Noctis scoffed around a spoonful of rice, quickly chewing before he spoke.

"It'll probably take another five years for them to get there."

"Not true!" Rayne protested with her mouth full, coughing when she inhaled her food. Prompto laughed and Ignis shook his head, eyeing the king to make sure he was going to finish. Gladio was transfixed on his meal. Wrestling a smile, Rue lowered her head and pushed rice around her half-empty bowl before reaching toward her glass for a drink.

"Not one for a long engagement?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Rayne glanced up at Noctis and shook her head with a sigh.

"No one here's been able to take it slow and that's the way I like it." Rue frowned, confused by her words. What was she alluding to? Ignis caught her eye when he took a drink from his wine glass and she raised an eyebrow. He looked away.

"Besides, it's not like we didn't see this coming from a mile away," Prompto teased, grinning at Gladio, who flashed the slightest of smug smiles.

"Not before Caem," he reminded them, glancing over at Rayne. She rolled her eyes. Rue wished she could demand to be let in on the inside jokes. She just didn't understand.

"Yeah, when your dumb #$% almost got Noct killed? Real genius you were to leave us behind," Rayne retorted, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms.

"Made you miss me, though, didn't it?"

"Shut up, Gladio. If anyone missed you, it was Noct."

"Did not," Noctis huffed, though he was wrestling a smile. Ignis stood, lifting the empty dishes from the center of the table and returning them to the kitchen. Rue watched him leave in silence, wondering if he was struggling with the topic and the burden it held on his mind. Even when the past was still the past, it was difficult to bear. She understood that.