#i was expecting some buildup but nah i just woke up and he was There. hey dude

[mechanomorphic]

i got to the point in arceus w ingo and that mfer just Shows Up huh.

[faierius]

Pyrexia Chapter Eight

Noctis jogged up the hill and spotted Prompto immediately. He was squatting on the ground, staring intently at something at the base of a pump jack.

“Need help?”

Prompto yelped and fell back on his butt at Noctis' feet. He looked up, wrinkling his freckled nose. “Noct!” he whined.

Grinning, Noctis stooped over and hooked his hands under Prompto's arms. He hauled the man to his feet and dusted off his backside. Prompto blushed. Noctis smiled and kissed his nose.

“What're you looking at here?” Noctis asked, gesturing to the scraggly plants growing at the base of the jack.

“I don't know which one is the one I need,” sighed Prompto, crossing his arms and shifting his weight to one leg. “Iggy's got a variety of plants and herbs in his kit, so I'm pretty sure this is the last one we need for the concoction. Only problem is, the guy at the diner didn't tell me if I needed the one with the blue veins or the one with the yellow veins.

“Look up a picture,” Noctis suggested.

Prompto held up his phone to show his lack of signal. “Tried that.”

“So you've been sitting out here, staring at weeds? Why not just go back and ask?”

“Because that would make sense, Noctis,” Prompto stated sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Wow. Where's this salt coming from?” Noctis asked with a dry chuckle as he bent over to pluck both plants from the loose dirt.

Sighing, Prompto brushed a chunk of blond hair away from his eyes. “I'm worried. I've never seen Iggy like this. I mean, other than last night when that Cryo-whatever knocked him out. But this is different.”

Noctis nodded. “Ignis and an excess of magical energy don't get along well. He also doesn't really do temperature shocks well, either. Mix that with physical and emotional drain, and you get that,” he explained, extending a hand toward the motel.

“Just getting hit by that ice spell was enough to knock him out?” Prompto asked, frowning. “Iggy's stronger than that!”

“Well, no. Not exactly,” Noctis replied, looking at the two plants he held. “It's hard to explain...” he sighed.

Prompto watched him patiently as he tried to gather his thoughts. They started moving back toward the Crow's Nest to ask about the plant, Noctis' brow furrowed.

“Well...without retelling the entire story I just told Gladio, stress woke up Ignis' minor talent for magic. Too much energy and no outlet kept him unconscious. I know it sounds stupid, but that's the simplest way to put it. He learned how to burn off buildup like that, but this isn't quite the same. He woke up after that ice blast yesterday, so it isn't exactly that? I think? He was already getting sick, we haven't had much down time recently for him to take it easy, plus this thing with Gladio...I think he's just burned out. Although...”

Prompto raised an eyebrow. “Although?”

“I was told his magic was brought on by hormonal changes. I wonder if his closeness to Gladio over the last day caused a change that kicked that energy into overdrive again.”

Prompto snorted. “Iggy got so worked up his brain rebooted?”

“What? N-no! No, that's not really what I meant. Ugh, forget it,” Noctis grumbled, wrinkling up his nose as heat crept into his cheeks.

Chuckling, Prompto hooked his arm around Noctis' neck. “You said temperatures bug him? What if he literally overheated?”

“Doing what?”

“Sapping heat from Mr. Walking Heater? Maybe his body overcompensated for the ice by taking in too much heat,” Prompto suggested with a shrug.

Noctis stopped walking, turning his full attention on the blond. “That actually makes a lot of sense. Gladio may not have magic, but he certainly has an energy to him. Ignis' magic is based in fire, so maybe he subconsciously stored that energy. I wonder if I can do what I did last time...”

“What did you do last time?”

Noctis winced. “I don't know...exactly.”

Leaning heavily on Noctis, Prompto lowered his head and groaned. “Seriously, Noct?”

“What? I was a kid! All I did was touch his hand, and my magic...did...something.”

“Uh...okay? But you touched him this morning, and nothing happened.”

“Right,” grumbled Noctis. “Wait...why did that work then and not now? I know my dad touched him, too, but nothing happened. Not until I did it.”

Crossing the road, Prompto released Noctis and shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe 'cause he was more familiar with you? You know each other really well, after all. Actually, for a long time, I thought you and Ignis were secretly seeing each other.”

“What? Gross. No, he's like a brother to me. We're family.”

The pair stopped before heading into the Crow's Nest and looked at one another.

“Maybe it had something to do with that? You aren't the person Iggy loves most anymore. Things have changed.”

Prompto's tone was light and teasing, but somehow it made Noctis a little sad. And just a touch jealous. But it was true. They grew apart as teens, taking their separate paths which only twisted together occasionally. This was when they truly became Prince and Advisor. When Noctis grew up a little, they managed to come back together as friends, but it wasn't the same. The unquestioning trust and love were there, but it felt more like caretaker and child than the brotherly bond they shared as kids. Even if Noctis was Ignis' primary concern, he was no longer his only concern.

“Noct, you okay buddy?”

Raising his eyes, Noctis was met with a concerned gaze, full of love. His heart thumped in his chest and he nodded. He had no need for the selfish, possessive jealousy that nagged at the back of his mind.

“Yeah. I just hope this medicine will work.”

“Me, too.” Prompto reached out and gave Noctis' arm a gentle squeeze before heading into the diner.

***

Gladio shivered. He hoped he wasn't getting sick as well. Though he was sure he was only feeling drained because he had been expending so much energy worrying about Ignis. Now that he had time to think, he was noticing the heaviness in his limbs. He wondered if this was how Noctis always felt, always wanting to sleep the day away.

Rolling onto his side, Gladio faced Ignis. He sighed and pulled the man close. The redness in his cheeks had faded, and he was sure the man wasn't quite as warm as he had been earlier. His dry lips were parted and his breathing was regular. It seemed like he was only having a nice nap. He looked deceptively peaceful.

Gladio couldn't help himself. He closed the scant distance between them and pressed his lips against Ignis'. It was a gentle kiss, only meant to give Gladio a little comfort. He didn't expect the tingle in his lips, or the warmth seeping into his core. He pulled back in surprise and searched Ignis' face. Nothing had changed. He still slept, his face slack. Frowning, curiosity got the better of Gladio and he kissed Ignis again. Again, a pleasant tingling danced across his lips. He brought his hand up to cup Ignis' cheek and the sensation spread into his fingers. Gladio sighed into Ignis' mouth. It took too much effort to keep the kiss chaste, but a knot of guilt twisted up his stomach.

“Stop molesting the unconscious man,” Gladio growled to himself, tilting his head and pressing his forehead to Ignis'. He closed his eyes, but the exhaustion he felt only a few minutes ago had dissipated. Now he was warm and cozy and just wanted to hold Ignis and talk with him. Just spend a lazy afternoon together, relaxing, enjoying one another's company.

“C'mon, Iggy. I'm getting real lonely without you,” he whispered, ghosting his lips over Ignis' eyelids. Between them, Ignis' hand twitched, his fingers brushing lightly against Gladio's beard. He grabbed the hand and kissed the knuckles.

“Geeze, if Prompto or me got sick, you'd just yell at us to man up,” Noctis commented to announce their return.

“I can kiss you to make it better too, if you want,” Gladio growled in response, hugging Ignis.

“Nah, your beard would be itchy.”

“Uh...you guys obviously made up,” Prompto observed, setting Ignis' kit on the low table.

Noctis shrugged.

“You never did tell me what happened after his fever broke,” Gladio said, rolling onto his back and folding his arm under his head.

“Isn't much else to tell,” Noctis replied, helping Prompto pull items from Ignis' kid. “It took another day for his temperature to return to normal and to regain consciousness. I was glued to him until they let him go home.”

“Right. So you guys got everything for that recipe?”

Prompto had the journal open on the table and his phone in one hand. “I think so,” he said, looking up each ingredient before picking it out of the assortment of dried and fresh plants.

“The question is, will it work?”

Gladio only sighed in response.

Noctis let Prompto work and approached the bed. He leaned across Gladio and put his hand to Ignis' cheek. “Feels like he's cooled down some,” he mumbled, pulling the gel pad off his forehead.

“I thought so, too. Did that gel thing actually do some good?” Gladio asked, looking up at Noctis.

“Maybe a little. But probably not enough to bring his fever down this much. Oh...he's starting to sweat,” Noctis commented, pointing out the damp hair at his temples.

“Oh, thank the Astrals,” sighed Gladio.

“Do we still need this?” Prompto asked, holding up the plant with the blue veins.

“Yeah, make it anyway. It can't hurt to give it to him. Might help with the cold he was getting before this.” Standing up straight, Noctis crossed his arms.

A deep frown settled on Gladio's face as he slowly sat up. He stared at Ignis, his heavy brow furrowed.

“What?”

“Uh...you said your fingers tingled when you touched Ignis?”

Noctis flopped into an armchair. “Yeah. What about it?”

“That was just because of your magic, right?”

“That's what I'm told.”

Prompto looked from Noctis to Gladio. “What are you guys talking about?”

A knowing smirk spread on Noctis' lips. “I'll tell you the story later, Prom.” He watched Gladio contemplate Ignis and almost laughed. The man had no idea what was happening. He had no clue how deep his connection to Ignis now was. Though Noctis wasn't entirely sure if his theory was correct, he liked the way it sounded. Ignis' abilities ran deeper than he imagined.

The group fell silent as Prompto carefully, meticulously followed the instructions in Ignis' journal. It took him half an hour to mix the concoction together.

“You sure that's right?” Noctis asked, wrinkling up his nose.

“It looks vile,” added Gladio.

Prompto's shoulders jumped in a shrug as he stared down at the soup, yellow-green mess in the bowl. “I don't know! I don't really have anything to go by, guys.”

“It won't poison him, will it?” Gladio grumbled, glancing over his shoulder to where Ignis lay curled up on the bed.

“This isn't exactly my area of expertise, big guy. I followed his instructions, so unless he forgot to write something down...” Prompto trailed off with another shrug, handing over the bowl.

“How much am I supposed to give him?”

Prompto consulted the journal. “Half now, then the other half in two hours.”

Gladio scowled down at the bowl. “I sure hope this helps.”