Kingsmen

A Recipeh Best Served Cold

“You’re up early.” Gladiolus’ baritone voice was loud even across the large, open-plan living room of the farmhouse. Prompto was lying on his back on the sofa, flicking through something on his phone. As the larger man approached him, stretching, the blonde quickly switched off the display and scrambled up, his ears turning slightly pink.

“Yeah, wanted to get some shots in the golden hour, it's the best light,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously before grabbing his camera from the coffee table and rushing out of the door.

Gladio shook his head, he would never quite understand the younger man’s obsession with technology, photography in particular. Sure, Prompto shot some pretty pictures but all the film in the world could not come near to the majesty of being in nature itself. Dismissing his companion’s strange actions, he stepped out onto the balcony and began his morning routine of squats in the pale dawn light.

At the top of the lighthouse, Prompto was leaning on the rail and looking out to sea, contemplative of what happened last night and what it meant. Could he start a relationship at a time like this? Once Noctis was married, surely he would be spending much less time with his best friend. A melancholic smile crept across his lips. He was happy for his friend, truly, yet he also felt a smattering of jealousy and even grief that their friendship was going to enter into another stage, one where he would see a lot less of the man he based so much of his life around. With a sigh, he realised what he had always known in the back of his mind. It was inevitable that Noctis would one day become King of Lucis and then he would have little time for some nobody with common blood.

Would Ignis want to start a relationship, though, or would this just be some fun for him? His heart hurt, feeling an all too familiar tightness in his chest as the gnawing self-doubts he had carried with him for so long surfaced again. Who would want to be with a useless nobody like him?

*  *  *

Ignis woke late to an empty bedroom save for the sight of his tonberry staring at him from beside his futon and he jumped a little, still not quite used to the small green daemon.

“Oh, good morning, Berry.” he said, giving it a gentle pat on the head, eliciting a tiny cooing noise from the normally silent creature. He had struggled to come up with a suitable name for his new friend and when Prompto had suggested ‘Mr Tom Berry’ the latter part had sort of stuck. It leaned into his long fingers, nuzzling him and bringing a soft smile to Ignis’ face. As he remembered what had happened the night before, his smile spread. Yes, today would be a good day indeed, though it would take some preparation.

He rose, arching his back to stretch out his muscles and put on a crisp, fresh shirt, doing up the buttons with an unusual flair. With a spring in his step, he left the bedroom and jogged down the stairs with Berry in tow, to be greeted by the surprised faces of Noctis and Gladio who were sat at the table.

“Good morning, gents!” he said, cheerfully. “All set for your little road trip?”

“Yeah,” Noct said, turning back to his conspicuously empty place setting, “Just waiting on breakfast since somebody decided to sleep in.”

“Come now,” Ignis said, tying his apron around his waist and hefting a frying pan from the rack, “I’m confident you could have managed to fix something between yourselves.”

Gladio grunted.

“But your food always tastes so much better,” Noct whined.

“That would be because I don’t burn everything I touch.” the Prince’s advisor retorted as he lit the stove and started collecting ingredients for pancakes.