[ Okay, so there are a lot of things going on at once that Noctis needs to process. He pulls away from him, not out of disgust or displeasure, but contemplative. One: Ignis doesn't feel betrayed or hurt. Two: Ignis isn't mad at Prompto or upset with him. And these two things are definitely the most normal things to be feeling when something like this happens.
That it isn't happening is baffling, too, but Noctis isn't in a hurry to force a conclusion out of Ignis -- he knows how these things get; Noctis can't even sort out his own emotions effectively sometimes, and for someone like Ignis, who always has his shit together, this must be particularly distressing. ]
Oh.
[ Then, something occurs to him, the slow clicking of a puzzle sliding into place. It's hard not to, considering the conversations they've had about Prompto during their makeouts. ] Do you, uh... like Prompto?
[What a question that is, to receive. Does he like Prompto — and not just in the way that he could easily misinterpret and escape from this line of questioning through. It would be painfully easy to presume Noct means it platonically, to say "of course" and change the subject, but that's not what he's getting at, and their discussion won't be best served by that sort of deflection anyway.
Still, he's not sure if that's a question for the sake of confirming a fact or one that comes with an accusation in its underpinnings, and so he's careful when he answers.]
I'm not in love with him.
[Best to reaffirm that, first and foremost.]
Are you suggesting I'm not cross with him because I have secretly harbored affections for him, or...?
[ Because the alternative is this: Ignis doesn't care enough to be upset, which is really absurd when he thinks about it -- it doesn't line up with everything that he feels. And it definitely makes less sense than Ignis somehow having feelings for Prompto, too.
Ignis definitely cares, but Noctis is just as baffled about this, having not previously encountered such an emotional quagmire. ]
I don't know what's going on here, Ignis.
[ He says softly; there's no accusation to be found in his tone, only a gentle stating of fact. ]
Do you... want me to give you some space? To think about it?
[Here, again, is another crossroads — another time when habit would have him answer one thing while another part of him wouldn't answer in such haste. It leaves him quiet, hesitant to respond right away, and eventually he draws back and takes Noct's face in his hands, running his thumbs over his cheeks as he looks at him softly.]
I don't want you to leave me alone right now.
[That's the first thing, the most important thing.]
But I do think...that I need time, to think about how I feel. I don't want to tell you something and call it true before I've even worked out if it is true or not. Is...that all right?
[ The relief in his eyes is obvious even if Noctis will never admit it. He doesn't want to leave Ignis alone, and giving him space would probably kill Noctis and make him inwardly miserable, so when Ignis reaches for him Noctis wraps his arms around him, leaning into his hands. ]
Okay, I can do that.
[ This whole relationship thing is hard, but at least they're talking it out as honestly as they can, right? Ignis is trying to figure out his complicated feelings and the least Noctis can do is let him. ]
All the time you need. And... catching up, for us.
[ He did just narrowly escape being an icicle, after all. ]
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no subject
That it isn't happening is baffling, too, but Noctis isn't in a hurry to force a conclusion out of Ignis -- he knows how these things get; Noctis can't even sort out his own emotions effectively sometimes, and for someone like Ignis, who always has his shit together, this must be particularly distressing. ]
Oh.
[ Then, something occurs to him, the slow clicking of a puzzle sliding into place. It's hard not to, considering the conversations they've had about Prompto during their makeouts. ] Do you, uh... like Prompto?
no subject
Still, he's not sure if that's a question for the sake of confirming a fact or one that comes with an accusation in its underpinnings, and so he's careful when he answers.]
I'm not in love with him.
[Best to reaffirm that, first and foremost.]
Are you suggesting I'm not cross with him because I have secretly harbored affections for him, or...?
no subject
[ Because the alternative is this: Ignis doesn't care enough to be upset, which is really absurd when he thinks about it -- it doesn't line up with everything that he feels. And it definitely makes less sense than Ignis somehow having feelings for Prompto, too.
Ignis definitely cares, but Noctis is just as baffled about this, having not previously encountered such an emotional quagmire. ]
I don't know what's going on here, Ignis.
[ He says softly; there's no accusation to be found in his tone, only a gentle stating of fact. ]
Do you... want me to give you some space? To think about it?
no subject
I don't want you to leave me alone right now.
[That's the first thing, the most important thing.]
But I do think...that I need time, to think about how I feel. I don't want to tell you something and call it true before I've even worked out if it is true or not. Is...that all right?
no subject
Okay, I can do that.
[ This whole relationship thing is hard, but at least they're talking it out as honestly as they can, right? Ignis is trying to figure out his complicated feelings and the least Noctis can do is let him. ]
All the time you need. And... catching up, for us.
[ He did just narrowly escape being an icicle, after all. ]