#clarus and rose amicitia

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

AAAAnd here we have chapter 1 of my series that is the follow up to Magic and Miracles called Magic and Miracles and BEYOND. ok so underneath the line of klienfelds, if you are going from left to right, that first dress is Crowe’s dress, Luna’s dress is the next to, showing the front and back and then Selena’s reception dress is next to that and her wedding dress is all the way on the right, below that, again going from left to right, we have Selena’s veil, Iris’ veil and the middle is Luna’s veil. Then next to that is the top of Stella’s dress, then the light blush dress is Pashmina’s dress then on the bottom row from left to right is the choker Iris will wear at her wedding, the rest of the bodice of Stella’s dress, the middle is Yasmine’s dress, the next is Iris’ wedding dress and the last dess is the dress Ada had her eye on. (*wink wink*) 

So you can enjoy this on either AO3 or below, hopefully Tumblr will be cool and KEEP this under a cut. *fingers crossed* 

Um for now I’m just gonna tag @the-immortal-marshal if anyone from the Magic and Miracles crew wants to get tagged or if I have any new followers who want to get tagged in this, let me know and I’ll tag you. 

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

“Ok, do you guys have everything packed?” Sylva asked as she watched Luche, Libertus, Crowe, Ravus, Selena, Nyx and Lunafreya pack everything they needed into her Escalade as Noctis, Ignis, Gladio, Pashmina, Pelna, Yasmine, Prompto, Cindy, Craig, Iris, Stella and Tredd packed everything they needed into two gigantic RV/ tour buses that Sylva had rented them and even got them drivers, since Noctis, Ignis, Gladio and Prompto would be doing a summer band tour. Their music that had been recorded performing for the kids at Miracles had gone viral on YouTube and they got calls to book gigs across the country and with a lot of planning they were all able to make one huge plan together which was really exciting to do.

First the whole group was going to Cedar Point for a few days during the week and then that weekend was Noctis’ and his friends first gig in Pittsburgh, which Sylva and Regis were going to be taking Gladio’s parents and Prompto’s parents with them to come and be in the audience. Then after that, Sylva would take Gladio’s parents and Prompto’s parent’s home and get some work done while Noctis and his group and Luna and her group were going to take a road trip to New York where Noctis and his friends would be doing gigs in between going to Klienfields again for all the girls to pick out wedding dresses and Sylva would be flying everyone’s family and extended family in for that too and then after that Luna and her group along with Crowe and Libertus would be house hunting in New York for when she and Nyx as well Crowe and Libertus would be moving there for college because Nyx, Libertus and Crowe had all got accepted to CIA too before Luche would leave with Sylva to continue working with her while Noctis and his group continued to tour while Luna, Nyx, Selena and Ravus would be going to their first vacation house, a cabin in Maine on the coast to check it out and see if they wanted to keep it or sell it.

And then Sylva and Regis and Luche would be taking Sylva’s super yacht down the coast to follow their kids who would be driving down the coast themselves and even boarding the yacht for some sailing and fishing in Myrtle Beach before they would meet in Miami at Luna and Ravus’ second vacation house before they would all take an extended family cruise on the yacht around the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands and all over the Caribbean for a nice summer vacation then once back, Luna and her group and Noctis’ and his group would continue their trek west, along route 66 on their nation wide food crawl while Noctis and his friends would continue to go on tours and stuff before they would reach the west coast where Sylva and Regis would go and Sylva and Regis would tour wine country and meet again in Ravus’ and Luna’s other vacation house in wine country before they would also go up the coast and then once they got to San Francisco and would go on two more cruises, one to Hawaii and then another to Alaska before coming back and Luna and her group and Noctis and his group would go up the coast to the north wast to Oregon and Washington where Ravus and Luna had yet another vacation house in Seattle before having a nice little trip through Vancouver, Canada before they would make their trips back east where they had another vacation house in Aspen, Colorado and then again in the other vacation house in Montana where they would all meet up again to do some fishing before heading through Chicago then back home in time for Luna, Selena, Stella and Iris as well as Noctis and Prompto to go to their classes for their senior year before Crowe and Libertus would get married that September, along with Gladio and Pashmina and Pelna and Yasmine before the winter where Luna and Nyx would get married and move to New York with Crowe and Libertus, Crowe got into the wine courses that the New York campus had and the business part of it too as well as the best Bar School New York had that was also in New York City.

But for now Sylva just went around with a clip board and went over everything with everyone to make sure they got everything and didn’t forget anything as they all answered and made sure they got everything that they needed packed. She had spent a small fortune making sure Noctis and his friends had really good instruments and speakers and stuff and of course plenty of merch and once they were all packed, they got one last family picture as the Ulrics, the Amicitia’s, the Shammas, the Argentum’s, the Lazarus’, the Ostium’s, the Altius’, Tredd’s dad, Stella’s parents, the Khara’s, the Patel’s, the Aurum’s and the Fosters all made sure their kids were all set too before they got one last huge group/family photo before all the kids took off and all the moms started crying before they went back inside to Sylva’s house where Sylva’s kitchen was stuffed with food and wine and stuff as all the parents officially celebrated a nice break without kids, of course, Luca, Luche’s little sister, Crowe’s younger siblings, Lily and Yusuf being the only ‘kids’ that didn’t go with the teenagers but they didn’t mind one bit, the parents were busy talking and gossiping in the kitchen and Yusuf finally worked up the courage to sneak himself and Lily off for just a moment.

“Where are we going?” Lily asked as she held onto Yusuf’s hand as he seemed like he was off to show her something special before Yusuf managed to find a lonely hallway near Sylva’s office and just around the corner and completely out of sight, Yusuf took Lily’s face in his hands and kissed her the way he had seen Gladio kiss Pashmina and kissed her sweetly. Lily made the tiniest of surprised hums and breathed in sharply before she pulled him to pin herself against the wall like she had seen Craig do to Iris on occasion and it was the perfect first kiss for the young couple and their budding romance that Sylva sensed would last their lifetimes.  

But in that moment, Luna and her group and Noctis and his all drove towards Cedar Point and went out to dinner that night once they got there and then into their hotel rooms, all of them staying in the same hotel, all of them, with some pleading with the hotel manager, managing to get on the same floor even. The next day the whole group took Cedar Point by storm, all of them getting the fast passes to cut all the lines and several times, they all got on the same train for all the rides which made for some epic ride pictures as well as great pictures period, Luche not feeling so bad being the third wheel even though he wished Ada could have come too but Cor was taking her to Canada instead, but they would be meeting up with everyone in New York because Ada wanted and needed to be there for when Crowe picked out her wedding dress since Ada was Crowe’s maid of honor.

After that, then when everyone got to Pittsburgh, they all tried to get rooms at a nearby hotel to where Noctis, Ignis, Prompto and Gladio would be performing before Sylva came with all the parents who also stayed at the nearby hotels too. Thanks to all the friends and family, the place was packed and they all cheered super loudly, Sylva doing so the most as she recorded it and was live streaming it to YouTube which got tons of hits and Sylva put Noctis’ band which they named The Chocobros- which was a reference to their favorite video game- schedule in the description. After the show The Chocobros were invited to perform the next night in another club, a bigger, nicer one and everyone stayed and a huge crowd gathered and Noctis and his friends got to sign autographs on the T-shirts themselves and sold out of half the T-Shirts the second night which Sylva immediately ordered thousands more and would be giving them to the group in New York when they would meet up again. Iris, Cindy, Pashmina and Stella setting up a table to sell them since they would be traveling with them all summer as Craig and Tredd would be running “security” and Pelna ran sound and Yasmine was their official ‘manager’ but really she was the best at negotiating pay, tour dates, keeping everyone on schedule and making sure they all stayed safe and after wedding dress shopping and house hunting in New York, Crowe and Libertus would be joining them, Libertus would help with security while Crowe would be running security for the girls at the merch booth to make sure they were taken care of too.

When they all finally reconvened in Klienfields, the whole group practically took up all of Klienfields waiting area.

“Moms, Grandma Edie, Grandma Susan,” Ravus began as he stood in front of the couch his mother, Sabrina, Edith and Susan were sitting on once he heard them oohing and awing the bigger ball gowns in the reception area and their murmurs of how Selena would look in them and knew he should step in because Selena wouldn’t necessarily tell them no.

“Selena and I have been looking at dresses on Pintrist and so I mean this with the utmost respect, but you guys need to abandon any vision you have of Selena in a big extravagant ball gown, she wants something simple and something lace and she doesn’t like ballgowns, it’s a summer wedding and she wants the dress to be light and comfortable and she doesn’t want to be a Disney Princess, she just wants to be her ok? For her, bigger isn’t better, whichever dress she wears that she’s wearing the biggest, brightest and most genuine smile, that’s her dress, despite however you personally feel about it, don’t push her or let anyone else push her to get something she doesn’t absolutely love, tradition be damned- ok? If you have issues or problems with this, you’re going to talk to me about it. The most important thing is that Selena will be happy and she will not sacrifice or compromise any of her own happiness to make you happy, you’ve all gotten your own weddings and they were hopefully what you wanted. It’s her turn to have her own wedding just the way she wants it.” Ravus communicated firmly with them, Ravus standing in front of them and taking turns looking each of them in the eye. Susan and Edith were taken aback by that, Sabrina blinked in surprise as before her face changed into a challenging frown as she crossed her arms over her chest but Sylva just beamed proudly at her son.

“You’re absolutely right, these appointments are all about finding the perfect dresses for the girls, I promise not to push my opinion on Selena, simply support her and give her my stamp approval on her favorite dress which I’m sure she’ll look gorgeous in, thank you for the reminder Dear.” Sylva placated.

“But,” Sabrina began before Ravus turned all of his attention to her. “Can’t she just at least try on, just one ‘Princess ballgown’, I’ve wanted to see her in one of those for 17 years, surely trying one on couldn’t hurt.” Sabrina reasoned as Edith and Susan nodded in agreement with that sentiment.

“Well that’s up to her, but again, I don’t want anyone to push her, persuade her, guilt trip her or talking her into doing something she doesn’t want to do.” Ravus insisted.  “Because I don’t do any of those things to her and I don’t want anyone else to do those things to her either.” Ravus pointed out and fixed them with a respectful but firmly determined look back. “Any other questions or concerns?” Ravus asked before they shook their heads no.

“Excellent,” Ravus beamed proudly before walking back over to Nyx and the rest of the guys who would be hanging out while their fiances would be doing wedding dress shopping while the brothers would be called back to see their sisters in their dresses.

“Wow, he’s uh, quite, protective isn’t he?” Susan noted.

“Yeah,” Sylva sighed wistfully. “I remember when his father used to do that to my parents. Tell them exactly when and where to get off when they were being overbearing. At least Ravus was respectful about it.” Sylva grinned proudly as she recalled fondly all the times Victor had gone toe to toe with her parents. “Trust me, it’s a good thing, especially when his goal is Selena’s happiness, that’s his driving force behind all his actions, once he has his eyes and heart set on something, he’s quite driven and always accomplishes his goals.” Sylva revealed before they were all shown the largest seating area to sit down and await their consultants. The guys continuing to hang out in the reception area.

“Selena Ulric?” Debbie asked and Selena raised her hand and waived excitedly.

“Hi, I’m Selena,” Selena greeted back happily as they two shook hands.

“And Lunafreya Nox Fleuret- Caelum?” Antonella greeted before she recognized both Luna and her mom from Sylva’s appointment. “Well hello again!” Antonella greeted happily. “Oh my goodness we have another big group today.” Antonella noted when she saw everyone as the other consultants came and greeted their brides and their families too.

“Yeah, it’s a family affair. So this is my husband Regis, I’m sure you recognize our son Noctis and his fiance Ignis, of course you remember Luna, this is Selena, our other son Ravus’ fiance who’s practically Luna’s sister because they’re best friends, her parents, Sabrina and Dorian Ulric, Dorian’s parents, Cliff and Susan Ulric, Sabrina’s parents Edith and Joseph Bakas and who you don’t see is Luna’s fiance Nyx who is Selena’s big brother who’s in the reception area and will be called back for when Selena picks her dress and Ravus of course is with him and Ravus will be called back for when Luna chooses her dress.” Sylva introduced as Debbie and Antonella went down the line to shake hands with everyone as the other consultants got to meet everyone else.

“Wow, ok, well what are you looking for Luna?” Antonella asked.

“Big princess ball gown with flowers and bling and poof galore actually I’ve had my heart set on this Malya Rovaolga gown,” Luna said as she pulled up her saved Pintrist images of the gown she found.

“We actually have that gown and you will look gorgeous in it.” Antonella reassured her.

“And what are you looking for Selena?” Debbie asked thoughtfully.  

“The exact opposite of everything Luna said, A line is all the poof I think I can stand, I really like sheath silhouette, maybe mermaid or even trumpet perhaps a fit and flare if the flare part isn’t too poofy and outragious and I’m looking for an all lace gown, now I won’t say no to a tiny bit of bling but I’m really wanting something  really simple.” Selena answered truthfully.

“And modest.” Sabrina, Susan and Edith added.

“And is there a price point we’re comfortable at?” Antonella asked.

“Nope sky’s the limit.” Sylva answered happily.

“Well we’d like to stay under five thousand.” Sabrina answered carefully.

“And if Selena falls in love with anything over that limit I’ll be more than happy to make up the difference.” Sylva volunteered as she heard all the other parents give their price points before Sylva piped up and stood up to make an announcement to the whole group.

“Ok, actually, the first figure they all just gave you guys is what they’ll pay for the first part, anything and everything above that, I’ll pay for, all these girls are like daughters to me, so none of these girls has a price limit, I don’t care if any or all of them fall in love with fifty thousand dollar dresses for their weddings and receptions each, I’ll pay for all of it, I want each girl to fall head over heels in love with their dresses and veils and accessories, no matter what the cost is.” Sylva announced and everyone cheered, the girls especially as all the girls bombarded Sylva with hugs and kisses from all the girls because Project Recovery had just hit the market that week and Sylva found herself fifty million dollars richer because of it and was feeling especially generous.

Ada got the distinct feeling that if she had stayed with Luche and was trying on a dress today too that Sylva’s invitation would have been extended to her too and that Sylva herself would have offered to fly her parents here for this too. But Cor was insistent, if not quite adamant that if they were going to get married, that they should do it all on their own and that David’s Bridal was just as good as any other dress shop and she needed to learn to be happy and content with just that and Cor was doing everything he could to save up for an engagement ring for her.

But seeing all the girl’s engagement rings had her feeling jealous, especially when Pashmina and Yasmine were flaunting the fact that Sylva had simply gifted them their large, gorgeous and stunning engagement rings and their right hand rings as Iris boasted that Ravus had given Craig one his father’s engagement rings that he had made for his son before he died because the two were like brothers and it’s because Iris and Craig had agreed that that was so sentimental that it would be her official wedding ring that she’d be getting after she graduated next year but that was why her ‘promise ring’ also from Sylva was as amazing as it was because Sylva was so touched by Iris and Craig’s sentimentality too, letting Iris have any and all rings and jewelry she wanted which she was currently sporting a diamond choker just for this occasion that she’d also be wearing on her wedding day that her parents would be taking home with them so it didn’t get stolen, lost or damaged during the summer.

Sylva’s generosity knew no bounds for her ‘kids’ but Ada felt and knew she wasn’t one of them. Not that Sylva was ever rude or mean or anything like that to her. Sylva treated her politely and in a friendly and kind manner but not near the adoring, loving and fawning nature she did all the other girls and Ada knew why and had made peace with that and knew not to expect it either. Ada had made her choice and made her bed and was now gonna lie in it.

However, since Luche had seemed to improve so much she found herself thinking back on all the good times they had had and feeling regret that she hadn’t been happy and content more then and maybe she should have seen Luche’s wisdom in trying to network that night of Sylva’s wedding and hadn’t needed to be so selfish that she needed to be his center of his attention in that moment in time, Luche always treated her like she was at any and all other times and he was doing it because he knew it would only help him take better care of her, Luche had been really good to her, and even now she was finding that she was drawing comparisons between Luche and Cor and since Luche had started improving and had dropped his problematic behaviors, the comparisons were starting to favor him more and more, even the pregnancy thing didn’t seem to bother her so much, especially once Luche had apologized for that and had explained his very flawed reasoning and had owned up to it all and took responsibility for it- at his own graduation party and that’s what really spurned herself to draw close to him again as a friend and was rediscovering him in a sense and seeing everyone all together like this, she found herself feeling hollow and saddened and regretful that she seemed to be or at least felt like she was on the outside looking in on all of it. All her friends were having the summer of her dreams without a care in the world while she was firmly planted in adulthood and unable to get out of it. Where she was finding out just how important Cor’s career was to him, how she found herself playing the supporting role to that and how doing anything fun was always reduced to how much it would cost and budgeting and stretching every dollar because living expenses were so high and while her parents had tried to teach her about it, now she was getting first hand experience just how hard it could be. Somehow she felt she knew her own wedding dress shopping experience wouldn’t nearly be as magical as this all seemed to be for her friends and that she found herself feeling somewhat sad while also somewhat jealous too but she had swallow all that down and not show any of that. This was about Crowe, so she had to just smile for Crowe’s sake.  

“Ok, well let’s get you girls back and into some beautiful dresses,” Debbie invited as she and Antonella brought Luna and Selena back as the other consultants got all the other girls into the changing rooms and talked with them privately to get further details on what they wanted, all the girls taking up a whole hallway.  

Once they were out of sight, Sabrina, Edith and Susan as well as all the other mothers all got up and went ‘shopping’ themselves. Sylva sighed exasperatedly and begrudgingly went after Sabrina, Edith and Susan, kindly repeating Ravus’ instructions, knowing Ravus would appreciate at least her trying to reign them in before she eyed a dress herself that she thought Selena would look ravishing in, perhaps as a reception dress and grabbed that before Sabrina, Edith, Susan and Sylva all walked to Selena’s room.

“Yes?” Debbie answered the door.

“We heard what you said but perhaps you could humor us and try these on too?” Edith asked as she held up her choice.

Selena sighed in defeat and decided to at least indulge them in trying them on before they came and hung up their dresses before leaving, Sylva staying behind a little as Sabrina, Edith and Susan happily walked back to where everyone else was.

“Ok, Ravus actually sat all of us down and told us not to do exactly what we’re doing and I’m sorry, I tried to stop them but as you can see they were bound and determined, please don’t agree to these dresses just because they are our picks ok? You have your vision and you should be true to that. It’s your wedding, not ours. Now that being said, I know your family is wanting something very modest for the wedding which is perfectly fine if that’s what you want too but might I suggest perhaps a second, tastefully provocative dress for the reception that you by no means have to do but if you felt so inclined I would love to buy for you whatever you decide.” Sylva grinned mischievously as she showed Selena her pick and grinned wider when Selena’s eyes widened and she ‘oohed’ at Sylva’s pick before Sylva hung it up with the others.

“Ok, I’ll do my best to keep them from interfering any further.” Sylva assured Selena before Selena got up and hugged Sylva tightly.

“Thank you so much for understanding and trying to curb them, I know it’s like herding cats.” Selena thanked Sylva gratefully as Sylva hugged Selena back just as tightly as the two shared a hearty laugh.  

“Of course Sweetheart, we love you, we just want to see you happy and that’s all the matters ok? Now get dressed and enjoy this moment. You don’t owe your mother, or me or your grandparents anything. Just have fun and relax and don’t worry about anything, Debbie is amazing and we’ll have no trouble finding you the perfect dress.” Sylva urged sweetly before letting go and left the room and Selena smiled appreciatively. “And that’s why I love and adore my future mother in law, supportive but indulgent at the same time.” Selena giggled as she looked at Sylva’s pick appreciatively as she realized she actually really loved it before she looked at the others blew out a breath, trying to decide which one she should put on first.

“Ok, put me in Mom’s pick.” Selena sighed in defeat as she pointed to the dress her mother picked out.

“It’s pretty, not what I’m looking for but pretty,” Selena admitted as Debbie put her into the dress.

“It is, but hopefully they’ll see how unhappy you are in it.” Debbie offered comfortingly as Selena made a face at herself in the mirror.

Luna and the other girls got out at the same time and gave Selena a questioning glace as they all looked at each other’s dresses first.

“My Mom and my grandma’s went dress shopping too. This is my mom’s pick.” Selena deadpanned as she gestured to herself in the dress while giving off an unimpressed if not irritated look before they all looked at Selena in various pitying looks while others quite liked the dress but for themselves.  

“Well it’s pretty, not at all what you’re looking for but pretty,” Luna shrugged which got Selena to laugh as all the girls agreed to that.  

“That’s exactly what I said!” Selena revealed which got Luna and the other girls to snort a laugh.

“Come on, let’s go out and show them.” Luna suggested.

“You go first,” Selena suggested before Luna and Antonella got in front of Selena and Debbie and all the other girls got in line behind them.

“May I present to you the most bodacious big princess ball gown ever!” Luna announced proudly as she marched up to that podium and let go of the underskirt to let it fall down to her feet as Antonella fluffed out the long skirt as everyone oohed and awed before Luna turned around, her brighter than sunshine smile lighting up the salon. “Tada!” Luna said as her arms gestured to her dress.

“Oh yeah, that’s the dress,” Noctis grinned which got Luna to squeal and clap in excitement as they all nodded in agreement.

“Go get Rae,” Luna told Noctis who obediently got up and got Ravus who after a few minutes appeared as Selena didn’t even bother to hide.

“What the hell?” Ravus asked when he saw Selena and went to her first.

“My mother and my grandma’s went dress shopping just after your talk with them.” Selena deadpanned before Ravus narrowed his eyes.

“I thought I had that handled but apparently I didn’t and I apologize for not being more explicit in our wishes Darling.” Ravus apologized before he went over to Lunafreya and smiled proudly when he saw how happy she was.  

“Wow,” Ravus breathed when he saw Luna in her dress.

“That is your dress Lunafreya, does it come with a matching veil?” Sylva asked before Antonella got one of the accessory consultants to find the matching veil. She came back and put the gigantic and over the top veil on as everyone fawned and gushed over the beautiful sight of Luna in her wedding dress.

“Ok, ask her the question,” Regis prompted Antonella as he wiped his proud and happy tears away, knowing that if Victor was still alive, he would have been sobbing by now because of how sensitive he was.

“Lunafreya, are you saying yes to the dress?” Antonella asked excitedly.

“Yes!” Luna cheered happily which earned a round of applause and hugs from everyone but Ravus stayed planted in his spot.  

“Ok, now I want to point out something, you’ve all adopted me right?” Luna put to Selena’s family as they nodded in agreement. “Ok, so you’re getting exactly what you want, one of your daughters slash granddaughters got the big princess ball gown and it’s everything I could ever want, now, let’s let Selena get what she wants.” Luna repeated pointedly at Sabrina, Edith and Susan who gave her unimpressed looks back as Luna gathered her dress up and got off the pedestal so Selena could get on herself but stood off to the side with Ravus.

“Ravus, you’re not supposed to see your bride in her wedding dress, it’s bad luck! Now go back with the rest of the boys.” Susan chided.

“And I thought I told you three not to pressure Selena into a big princess ball gown, but what exactly is she wearing?” Ravus turned and gave the three of them a pointed look who looked away guiltily as Selena came forward and Ravus held her hand and helped her up onto the podium but otherwise didn’t move from her side.  

“You look gorgeous baby,” Sabrina cooed at the sight of Selena in the big poofy princess ball gown.

“Yeah, but that’s not the same super happy smile Luna was wearing, that’s a polite, doesn’t want to hurt your feelings because she hates it- smile.” Sylva pointed out before Sabrina looked from the dress to Selena’s face and had to admit Sylva had a point as Ravus still refused to move and continued to stare Sabrina, Edith and Susan down.

“It is a gorgeous dress but Sylva’s right, you’re not happy in it.” Susan admitted first. “Don’t even bother putting my pick on, just find the dress that makes you happy.” Susan advised which got Selena to smile gratefully back and Ravus didn’t ease up until Edith agreed and told Selena not to try on her pick either before Ravus finally let up.

“Yeah, it’s pretty, but not the right dress, next.” Cliff said.

“Agreed, you’re beautiful, but that’s not your dress,” Dorian shook his head no which made Selena blow out a breath of relief and say a silent thankful and grateful prayer that everyone could see she wasn’t happy in it before Ravus beamed proudly back at Selena while she smiled appreciatively back at him for standing up for her the way he did.  

“Ok, thank you for indulging me Baby,” Sabrina nodded as she got one picture of Selena in the gown before Selena picked up the dress and happily got off the pedestal and off to the side before Ravus kissed her cheek sweetly before he returned to the rest of the guys, taking Noctis and Ignis with him while each girl then got her turn on the pedestal so all the family could appraise the dresses, all the dads especially choking up and crying at seeing their baby girls in wedding dresses, Clarus doing so the most before all the girls got off and followed Luna back into the dressing rooms. Luna got changed out of her dress and changed back into her regular clothes came out of her dressing room and got Nyx from the lobby since he could sit in for the rest of Selena’s and the rest of the girl’s appointments but Ravus couldn’t resist himself and had found a few dresses he thought Selena would like and possibly love and gave them to Nyx and Luna to give to Selena before they walked back to the dressing room Selena was in.

“Ok so who picked these out? Because these are actually what I’ve been looking for, your mom?” Selena guessed to Luna who shook her head no.

“Are you sure you want to know?” Luna hinted giddily.

“Yes,” Selena nodded as she looked from Luna to Nyx.

“Beavus,” Nyx answered which melted Selena’s heart and made her gasp softly.

“Really? Aww, the man knows me, I love them.” Selena smiled excitedly as she looked them over.”

“And I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about dresses but this one is my personal favorite, it’s the most...you.” Nyx said as he gestured to his favorite one that Ravus had picked out.

“And I completely agree with Nyx, this has to be my favorite too, although this one is really gorgeous.” Luna noted before she noted her mother’s pick. “But again, it’s all completely up to you, you don’t have to pick this just because we like it.” Luna reassured her.

“Thanks, actually your mom picked that one out for me, believe it or not, said it could be a reception dress. But don’t tell my mom or my grandmothers but I actually really love that one.” Selena informed them proudly.

“Go Mom! And don’t worry about it, that can be our little secret, what they don’t know can’t hurt them.” Luna cheered which just made Nyx roll his eyes and shake his head but he knew Luna had a point.

“I take it if you go that route, she’d buy the second dress?” Nyx guessed and Selena and Luna nodded adamantly before Luna and Nyx left and rejoined the group.

“So which is really standing out to you?” Debbie asked.

“This one, their favorite out of Rae’s picks, I love the peekabo back,” Selena decided giddily before Debbie put her in that one.

“Oh it’s so soft too!” Selena gushed as she looked at herself excitedly in the mirror and ran her hands over the lace of the bodice. “And I love the illusion lace at the top and I thought I wanted all lace but I really like how there’s a break here and I know I didn’t want poofy but this just the right amount, I’m actually ok with the little bit of poof, and it’s not heavy, it’s really light and really comfortable.” Selena praised.

“And the sweetheart neckline is perfect for you and the off white/ ivory really compliments your skin tone. It’s a beautiful, very romantic, very classic dress as well.” Debbie added. “And look at your smile! That’s the smile I think your future mother in law was talking about, you’re really happy in this dress!” Debbie smiled happily and knowingly before Selena started to cry a few happy tears.

“He found me the perfect dress.” Selena happily cried as she took a tissue from Debbie and dabbed at her eyes but couldn’t stop smiling her own brighter than sunshine smile, loving how she looked in the mirror as she just knew she had found her wedding dress, she felt like a bride and she felt like herself wearing the perfect dress, not like the dress was taking over and wearing her at all.

“Let’s go show them.” Debbie suggested before they walked out and Selena showed off Rae’s dress to all her friends who absolutely loved it and loved that Selena loved it and everyone oohed and awwed again before Selena revealed she felt like this was her dress which earned a round of cheers from all the girls who hugged and congratulated her before Selena practically strutted back out to everyone.

“There’s the smile,” Sylva smiled knowingly when she saw Selena come back to them in the second dress. Wearing her own brighter than sunshine smile and walking tall and proud.  

“She cried tears of happiness just putting it on.” Debbie informed them before everyone started to get choked up as Selena started crying and laughing at the same time again.

“It’s perfect baby,” Dorian cooed as he discretely wiped the tears escaping his eyes.

“It really is, that dress was made for you,” Cliff praised.

“You look like the perfect bride, everything about it is perfect.” Edith cooed.

“I agree, you’re so beautiful baby, this is your dress.” Sabrina cried happily before everyone else gave Selena and her dress their praise and stamp of approval too.

“Get her in a veil.” Sylva suggested again and Antonella left to go get a few different veils that could match the dress.

“And plus if you guys still wanted that grand train look, you can accomplish that with the veil,” Debbie pointed out as she put the grandest veil on Selena and everyone ‘oohed and awed’ again.

“Ok I gotta admit I do absolutely love the veil.” Selena admitted.

“You’re so beautiful Selena,” Nyx cried as Dorian put his arm around Nyx’s shoulders. “Beavus is so going to cry his eyes out when he sees you.” Nyx teased lightheartedly which got them all to laugh.

“He is, you’re going to have to stuff your pockets with as much tissue as possible.” Sylva immediately agreed.

“I have never seen you look more beautiful my Darling Divine,” Luna cooed as she got up and hugged Selena tightly. “You don’t have to tell anyone who picked this out ok?” Luna whispered and Selena nodded in understanding.

“Selena you look absolutely radiant and you look so happy in that dress, you found your dress,” Sylva praised and Selena nodded along and began to sway in the dress, watching it swirl around her in amusement.

“So, Selena, are you saying yes to the dress?” Debbie asked excitedly.

“Yes!” Selena answered brightly and everyone cheered. “But,” Selena began and everyone stopped and stared in surprise. “It was suggested that I could have a dress for the wedding and a second dress for the reception and there is just one more dress I want to try on.” Selena began with a meaningful look and smile to Sylva who returned it giddily. Selena’s family looked at each other curiously but the looks between Nyx, Luna and Sylva were the most telling before Selena left to return to her dressing room.

“Ok, I really love my future mother in law, this is just...this is amazing, I feel like a million bucks in this, it’s still pretty modest but it just hugs my curves just right while still allowing me to move in it and it has just that special something and it has just enough bling in the details and in the lace that I didn’t think I would like but I just...I love it. I really do.” Selena admitted as she tested to her movement in the dress to make sure she could still dance in it.

“Well that and you shine like a jewel in the dress too.” Debbie praised. “And you’re wearing an excited smile in this dress. I think Rae is really going to love you in this and just imagine his surprise when you change into this.” Debbie noted.

“Well I feel just plain giddy in this dress and all I can think is how much fun Rae’s going to have taking it off of me and how much fun I’m going to have having him take this dress off of me too.” Selena giggled which got Debbie to laugh too.

“And that’s the whole point of having a reception dress, Rae is a very lucky man.” Debbie cooed.

“He is but I’m just as lucky, if not luckier because I get to marry him and get to be in this amazing family.” Selena nodded. “OK, let’s go show them.” Selena suggested as she couldn’t help but squeal in delight and outright strutted out to her room to show all the other girls who cheered and hooted and hollered and whistled at Selena dancing seductively in the dress before she went and showed her family.

“Wow,” they all collectively said as Sylva beamed a smile so bright she shamed the sun.

“Yeah, I’m totally getting this as my reception dress.” Selena informed everyone.

“Well how much is it?” Sabrina asked a little warily.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m going to buy this dress if you’re ok with it Selena.” Sylva volunteered to which Selena nodded adamantly to that with a bright giddy smile.

“Ok fine, Ravus is in for a treat.” Sabrina grinned.

“Yes he is.” They all agreed.

“So, Selena, are you saying yes to this dress too?” Debbie asked excitedly.

“Yes!” Selena answered just as brightly and excitedly as she did the first time.

However not all the girls had an easy time finding their dresses. Yasmine was unbelievably picky while Iris had a hard time finding a dress that didn’t swallow her petite body whole before Selena offered the other two dresses that Ravus had picked out for her, Iris falling in love with one of them immediately and how simple yet very traditional it was on her, she didn’t think she wanted lace at all but the lace of this gown had her feeling like a bride- Gladio, Clarus and Rose and Rose’s parents and Clarus’ parents all practically sobbing tears of joy by how beautiful Iris was in it as Iris also got an over the top cathedral veil and added a blinged out belt and it was perfect before she got a reception dress that was shorter, to her knees and blinged out like crazy that was so Iris’ personality that her own parents and grandparents were ok with.

Pashmina and Yasmine were both having traditional Indian wedding dresses for their actual ceremonies, but they were there to find reception dresses that were the traditional white and Yasmine wasn’t happy until the actual designer came over and designed her- her own custom gown that had elements from all three of her favorite dresses as well as something perfectly unique just for Yasmine as her parents rolled their eyes and thanked Sylva repeatedly for paying for it since it was now quite expensive because Yasmine was a Princess in her how right too. Crowe had a hard time finding a dress that was ‘kick ass’ but when she found a high low dress that could be customized and once she learned that on the underside, they were willing to add actual camo to the underside and to the belt, Crowe was sold and finally really happy, actually crying tears of joy herself that had all the girls hugging her in a group hug. Sylva and Crowe’s mothers getting up to do a victory dance themselves that Crowe wasn’t going to leave empty handed because they had been sweating bullets because she was picky for completely different reasons. Stella however, was having a hard time finding a dress ‘sexy enough’ and Stella’s mom Samantha nearly pulled her hair out because it was a god damn wedding dress, not a burlesque outfit and that Stella wasn’t actually going to strip for Tredd at the god damn alter, before Sylva just huffed, stood up and marched over to a Pnina Tornai that was currently the sexiest dress Pnina had yet to design and brought it over.

“Samantha, it’s Stella’s wedding just let her get whatever she wants and make peace with it.” Sylva very firmly advised at her BFF before addressing her niece. “Stella, this is the sexiest dress in here, I know because for giggles I tried it on when I was here but it was too sexy even for me, if you don’t like the bottom we can customize it until it’s perfect ok?” Sylva offered as she handed the dress over and Stella’s eyes went wide when she realized it was mostly sheer and dripping with jewels before Stella happily took it back and practically ran back to her room with her consultant.

“God damn it, my aunt was right, it’s perfect, except for the bottom, if we could get the bottom of the other Pnina on this one, I’ll be happy.” Stella beamed happily as her consultant blew out a breath of relief before Stella strutted out in the dress, making the Amicitias and their parents and their grandparents, especially Rose and her mother start praying in Spanish and kissing their crosses and rosary and all of them doing the crosses over themselves- that Iris or Pashmina hadn’t picked anything like that as all the other girls who stayed in their wedding dresses watched on, Luna getting back into her dress just so that they could all get a picture of all of them in their dream dresses and Stella had been the last one to find her dress.

“Ok, now, Sylva, you made the best call because this is her dress, she just wants this bottom on this dress.” The consultant said as she went behind Stella to hold up the bottom of the dress in front of Stella in the mirror so Sylva, Stella and Samantha could envision it.

“Ok, yeah, you’re right, it’s perfect.” Samantha finally caved, desperate to just get out of there and grateful that Stella was getting a wedding period.

“So Stella? Are you saying yes to this dress?” The consultant asked.

“Oh I’m saying hell yes! Woo!” Stella crooned as all the other girls cheered before they all got together and everyone got pictures of all the brides to be in their wedding dresses.

However Sylva did notice that Ada herself seemed to be drawn to one of the gowns there and made an actual note in her phone that once Ada left Cor for Luche again, that she would bring her here just to try that gown on for her and to invite her parents and Luche’s mother and little sister for it too. However as everyone started to go through the check out process and Ada wasn’t looking, Sylva stayed behind and snagged another consultant to make sure that dress would still be there for them in 4-5 months time and was relieved when it would be. Sylva however knew that Luche’s mother wouldn’t be thrilled to have Ada as a daughter in law and knew she’d probably have to be the buffer for Linda, Luche’s mother between Linda and Ada but knew of a solution that would make everyone happy before she spotted another dress that Sylva felt Ada would look amazing in for a reception dress and made a note of that one too and made sure it would be there in 4-5 months too.

“Mom? What’cha doin?” Selena asked as she came up behind Sylva and hugged her from behind and set her head on Sylva’s shoulder before Sylva swore Selena to the utmost secrecy and told her what she was doing. Selena being both amazed yet saddened to hear what Sylva saw for Ada’s very near future but at the same time, happy that Luche would get the love of his life back at the end of summer and that he’d get his happily ever after- after all and that they’d be back here so that Ada could have her own magical wedding dress experience.

“So I’ll do my best to discourage him from getting another attachment while he’s with us.” Selena offered. “Yes, please, thank you Dearest.” Sylva thanked her daughter as she hugged her tightly.

When it was Sylva’s turn to check out, paying for the remainder of everyone’s stuff, she didn’t even bat an eye lash, in fact she was so all too happy when she did her own check out and simply charged it all to her black card, the one that didn’t have a limit because all her ‘daughters’ and their happiness’ were definitely worth it. Sylva got out of the office and saw Cor and Ada leave, knowing Cor was anxious to get home and get back to his case and all she could do is watch Luche become downcast that Ada was leaving.

Sylva then took everyone out to dinner at one of the best restaurants in New York City. The restaurant dividing the group up where the parents sat at one big long table while all the younger couples sat at another huge long table, Selena made sure that Luche sat in between Ravus and Nyx while the younger kids got their own table too. And the food was some of the best food everyone had ever had, Nyx and Libertus taking notes before Sylva had the chef come out and talk with Nyx and Libertus personally which was an honor they really appreciated.

Meanwhile Ada pouted and huffed from her spot next to Cor on the flight home, watching as picture after picture was posted to social media of everyone out for the evening, all of them out to eat and posting pictures of their food while she resentfully ate her airline pretzels that tasted stale to her. She wanted to stay with Crowe longer, she wanted to get to see Noctis and his band perform, she wanted to hang out with her friends and go out to dinner with everyone, to stay at the freaking Four Seasons Hotel with everyone that night and to go house hunting with Crowe the next day but Cor had to work the next day and Crowe had barely had gotten to pick out her wedding dress before Cor was chomping at the bit and pushing Ada to leave to get to the airport to get back home so they would have time to go through security and stuff and Ada felt so rushed and the rushing took her joy from it all, the whole group had gone to one of the best restaurants in all of New York City and Sylva had paid for everyone to stay at the Four Seasons and would be taking everyone who wanted to go to The Met for a ballet and was going to take all the girls shopping for appropriate dresses because all the guys had brought suits, well except for Cor, he didn’t want to do any of that and had only flown them there for the day because he wanted to see Iris get a wedding dress too but while Ada wasn’t into the ballet and Cor was definitely not, she still wanted to be with everyone and get a nice new dress and enjoy the new experience. She was missing out on so much fun damn it! And before she knew it she felt like she was seething.

“What is your problem?” Cor asked as her huffs got his attention.

“I’m missing out! I wanted to stay!” Ada snapped angrily as if that was glaringly obvious.

“Well I’m sorry, but I need to get back and I couldn’t leave you there by yourself.” Cor argued.

“I wouldn’t have been by myself! I would have stayed with everyone else, I would have stayed with Crowe.” Ada argued.

“Yeah, no,” Cor shook his head.

“Why not?!” Ada demanded.

“Hun, everyone was coupled up except for Luche, I’m not leaving you alone with him.” Cor pointed out.

“Oh, like you don’t trust me to be around him? Is that it?” Ada accused.

“I trust you, I don’t trust him.” Cor countered evenly even though he found himself getting jealous that they were talking and starting to be friends again and that worried him and her behavior towards Luche had started to bother him but he didn’t want to start a fight. Younger people always seemed to think that you can be friends with your exes and Cor’s experience had taught him otherwise.

“But he’s gotten better!” Ada argued as tears came to her eyes.

“Why are you crying? Why are we even fighting about this?” Cor asked, now he really was worried if Ada was so quick to defend Luche now.

“Because you love your job more than you want me to have fun with my friends.” Ada spat.

“That’s not true! Quit acting like a spoiled brat! I flew you here didn’t I? You still got to hang out with everyone all morning and we got to go to brunch afternoon, you got to see Crowe pick out her wedding dress. You got exactly what you asked for. So stop this nonsense!” Cor growled.

“Yeah, that was until, we got invited to go out to dinner, and got invited to stay, we could have stayed, Sylva would have flown us home in her jet with everyone else and all it would have cost us is our time. Why didn’t you take Regis up on his offer, he wanted you to stay, he wanted you to hang out with him! Him and Clarus did! The case would have still been there when we would have gotten home, it’s not that urgent. You won’t make any progress in the few days we could have stayed with them that you couldn’t have made in the few days after we could have gotten back.” Ada argued, trying not to cry and failing.

“Look, it just didn’t sit well with me alright?” Cor whispered, not wanting to cause a scene.

“Oh that Regis and Sylva would have paid your way?” Ada sneered.

“Yes and there is no way we could have afforded to go out to eat with them and we definitely couldn’t have afforded to stay with them, there’s just no way, we’ve over extended ourselves just for this already.” Cor explained.

“It was all a gift! You’re not freeloading! If your ego and your fragile sense of masculinity wouldn’t have been upset by them being generous with you, and if you would have had some bloody grace in accepting it, it wouldn’t have cost you a dime, so it’s nice to know that you hold your own ego ahead of me too. First it’s your job and now it’s your ego, what’s next? Sports?” Ada snarled angrily which just got Cor to growl in frustrations.

“Ada! Just grow up already! You are not the center of the world or the center of the universe, not everything revolves around you and you having fun. Get out of that fantasy dream world that you think everyone else is living in because sooner or later reality is gonna bite them in the ass and you’re just getting your bite first.” Cor hissed and Ada just wanted to strangle him, hit him, something. She couldn’t believe she was missing out because Cor just couldn’t accept a fucking gift.

Ada just glared daggers at him and just turned and looked out the window as her legs crossed and her arms crossed over her chest as she just stewed about it for a while. She knew she wasn’t the center of the world, she knew that. But Cor had always told her that she was the center of his and she felt and thought he was the center of hers. A sentiment she had no trouble believing or living for that matter...in the beginning, but the more time went on, she had a harder time believing that because while he said that, his actions didn’t always align with that while her own continued to prove true. And Cor had always treated her like an adult, as if she was already grown up, and she loved that about him but there was a line between between that and being blunt, harsh, critical and just plain mean which is how she felt Cor was being now. At least Luche always had been gentle with her emotionally and mentally anyway, and what had felt like babying before, was now refreshingly pleasant. And then her phone went off.

‘I’m sorry you had to go home early, I wished you could have stayed.’ Luche texted her and Ada wanted to cry, she got up out of her seat and went to the airplane’s bathroom and started sobbing.

‘I would have given anything to stay. But Cor needed to get back.’ Ada texted as her teardrops landed on her phone’s surface before she wiped them off.

‘I don’t mean to pry or anything but did you have to go back too? Did you need to work or something? You could have stayed with all of us and Sylva would have taken care of you and made sure you would have gotten back safe and sound and if Cor would have been worried about ‘us’ I would have stayed as far away from you as Cor would have wanted, you shouldn’t have missed out on all of this just because of me.’ Luche offered and Ada just sobbed harder, god damn it, she should have dug her heels in and refused to leave and to spite Cor she would have sat right next to Luche at dinner and would be having so much fun right now. Choosing Cor over Luche so far had cost her dearly and right this second, she regretted it.  

‘Cor is allergic to ‘charity’ and you’re right, Cor didn’t trust you to stay away even though I do, I know you would have and I know we would have been fine. He hates the idea of anyone paying his way and all that like it’ll make him less of a man if he accepts help.’ Ada revealed.

‘Does he think less of every guy here? Does he think that every father that was here tonight is less of a man because she chipped in getting all the girls their wedding dresses and for going out to dinner and for going to the hotel tonight or even to the Met? Sylva is just generous by nature and she knows that life is hard and she knows that most of us would never be able to afford any of this but she wants to lesson the sting as much as she can and she genuinely loves everyone and just wants to help and treat us all like family. This is a once in a lifetime thing and it’s a special treat and she’s just trying to make this moment perfect for everyone, that’s all it is, she can easily afford to do this, she knows it means the world to the rest of us. She’s just trying to help. What’s so wrong with accepting help and accepting gifts? Do you think I’m less of man for being here too? I don’t care if Cor thinks that but I do care what you think.’ Luche asked worriedly.

‘No! Not at all! I know that’s what’s going on! I don’t think less of you at all! In fact I think it’s brilliant that you can accept gifts with as much grace as you do! I just wish Cor could too is all.’ Ada immediately reassured him and Luche blew out a breath of relief.

“What’s going on with you?” Libertus and Crowe asked as they had been sitting across from him and watched his facial expression and he was texting under the table before Luche showed them his phone screen. Crowe’s face immediately twisting into an angry snarl.

“Oh he’s dead meat as soon as they land.” Crowe snarled.

“Babe, come on.” Libertus pleaded before Yasmine got a chance to look at it and just shook her head.

“That’s ridiculous and very unfortunate and a damn shame Cor feels that way because it’s literally all his fault that she’s not with us but at the same time...you know what? She’s made her bed, she gets to lie in it now and chances are he’d kick her out if she tried to come back and join us again. She can’t risk it. She’s just going to have to make peace with it. There’s nothing any of us could say or do to change his mind, Pelna over heard Regis and Clarus try their hardest to keep him here and if Cor couldn’t stay for Regis, who he was a groomsman for, there’s no way any of us will sway him either. I feel so sorry for her. I can’t imagine the shoe string of a wedding they’ll have, if Cor won’t accept any help at all? Does he not know that weddings in themselves are just ridiculously expensive these days? Everyone needs help. It pisses me off that he thinks less of every man here, especially my own father and everyone else’s father, how could he even be Regis’ groomsman, does he think that of Regis too?” Yasmine speculated.

“Ok but for Ada’s sake can we just keep this to us now? I don’t want things to get any worse for her than they already are.” Luche pleaded.

“Of course,” Yasmine immediately agreed before Luche gave a pointed and expectant look to Crowe.

“Fine,” Crowe grumbled as she stuffed her mouth before Luna changed the subject to something lighter.

“Yeah but I can’t imagine Ada will stay with Cor much longer if he’s going to be like that. That’s just ridiculous, she’s clearly not that happy with him.” Ravus murmured to Luche encouragingly which did give Luche a glimmer of hope.  

‘I just wish there was something I could to help but I know all that will do is cause more trouble and I don’t want to cause you more trouble than I already have because you need a break. All of us wish you could have stayed but we all get the feeling that if we all offered to fly you back right as you land, that Cor would get pissed and either force you to choose us or him and threaten to kick you out or even bring Baxter into this somehow if you chose us over him and we can’t do that to you. It’s really unfair and there’s no way I or anyone else can make it fair to you and we’re sorry. I’m sorry most of all. I would have gladly left and flown back tonight if it meant you could have stayed, you should never have to choose between your love life and your social life and friends.’ Luche texted and Ada just sobbed even harder and hugged her phone. How come Cor couldn’t see it that way?! God fucking damn it, she wished she would have just dumped Cor right then and there and gotten back with Luche that instant because then she would have just dealt with the fallout later. Luche still obviously still cared for her so much that he was willing to give up his own fun if it meant she got it instead. How come Cor couldn’t sacrifice himself for her like that? Did Luche really care for her more than Cor did if he was being that self sacrificing? Oh she never should have left him. If she had a time machine, she would have gone back in time and slapped Crowe for suggesting to find her own fun that night. She would have slapped herself and gone ‘HOE DON’T DO IT! IT’S NOT WORTH IT!’ but she couldn’t. Someone knocked on the door and Ada did her best to find her composure before finally stomping back over to Cor and sat back down and continued to sulk.

“Love...” Cor began, feeling guilty about this and was going to apologize as he gingerly reached out and tried to touch her outer thigh with his knuckles.

“Don’t call me Love, don’t fucking touch me unless you want whatever you’re touching me with to get chopped off and unless the next words out of your mouth are ‘I’m going to fly you back to New York as soon as we land’ without asking me to choose us over them or that you’re going to be making this up to me one way or another, heaven help you- or the biggest fucking apology ever for your ego costing me my social life and making me choose you over my own friends like some abusive boyfriend who won’t even let me have friends because how dare I have a life outside of you, I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.” Ada spat angrily.

“Fine,” Cor returned. She was being impossible and he wasn’t going to cause a scene. Let her stew and be angry if that’s how she wanted to do this whole cold shoulder, silent treatment to him, he could do it too, he had two hands to please himself and his spare bedroom was just fine to sleep in anyway and give her a taste of her own medicine for a couple of days and she’d come around just fine. Give her a couple of days and she’d gain some perspective and he considered himself a patient man.

That night Selena laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes as she thought over everything.

“Everything alright Darling?” Ravus asked as he came and got into bed with her.

“Yeah,” Selena nodded.

“Did you get the dress of your dreams?” Ravus asked.

“Yes,” Selena answered as her smile was brighter as she said that.

“But...I get the feeling there’s more to it than that.” Ravus gently countered and Selena opened her mouth to reassure him that nothing was wrong but hesitated.

“Oh no, what is it Darling?” Ravus asked worriedly.

“It’s not about me, or us. I absolutely loved my dress, or dresses I should say, your mother simply suggested I get a reception dress and picked out the most amazing reception dress and I am head over heels in love with both dresses, so don’t worry about that. No, I’m...concerned about someone else.” Selena worded carefully.

“Who?” Ravus asked and Selena took a deep breath and held it for a second before found she had to tell him, but only him.

“Ada.” Selena answered as she exhaled and cuddled up to his chest as he looked at her strangely.

“Well it is a shame things worked out the way they did for her today.” Ravus remarked as he held her close, happy to have her so close again and also happy that Selena wasn’t holding anything back from him and talking to him about what troubled her. Communication was key.

“Well, there’s more to it but your mom made me promise not to tell but I think she’d be ok with me telling you as long as you don’t tell anyone else because we shouldn’t keep secrets like this between us.” Selena ventured as Ravus nodded along with that before Selena told him what his mom had told her but Ravus didn’t look surprised at all by it which in turn surprised Selena.

“Yeah I figured as much myself, when I saw Luche get Ada that tea and when I saw Ada react to Cor being in the hospital I came to that conclusion myself. Cor’s in the hospital all the god damn time because he’s reckless with his life, always has been, always will be and the fact that Ada was the last to know was the biggest mistake Cor made. And today was just a glaring example of how it’s not gonna work out. Did my mom give an estimate on a time frame?” Ravus asked curiously.  

“Two months, three tops, Luche and Ada just might get back together by Crowe’s wedding.” Selena answered.

“Wow, ok that’s way longer than I personally gave them, like I gave them to the end of the week but my mom has always done this, she’s nicknamed ‘The Oracle’ for a reason because she’s always right too. Always.” Ravus chuckled. “But thank you for telling me. I will always want you to tell me whatever is on your mind and heart ok?” Ravus offered as he gently stroked her face with his hand.

“It was just...sad because I think all of us could see Ada wanted so bad to be included with all of this but couldn’t be. Hopefully when she goes back to Luche for good and we do this again for her, she’ll have her moment too.” Selena hoped.

“I’m sure she will.” Ravus nodded before he kissed her softly.

“So do you get all oracle-y too?” Selena asked Ravus thoughtfully.

“I used to as a kid, it’s just...a gift that’s always been in my family, I felt like I lost it when my dad died. Luna gained it when I lost it but I think she lost it when Andrew came into her life and I don’t know if she ever got it back. But when you came into my life, I got it back and it’s stronger now than it’s ever been.” Ravus confessed with a lop sided grin.

“Aw, so what do you see for us?” Selena asked giddily before Ravus rolled her over to her back with his body and pinned her to the bed before he started to sensually kiss her neck and chest as she relaxed completely and started to feel heated.

“Oh that you’d find your perfect dress today, that we’ll have the best summer this summer so far,” Ravus murmured into her skin between heated open mouthed kisses to her hot spots as his hands sensually took her pajamas off before his hands roamed and stroked her body, his touch igniting a fire in her as her breathing changed as her own hands took off his pajamas. “That we’ll build our dream house and that you’ll get inspired by all the vacation homes you’ll be shown this summer so that our house will be spectacular and perfect,” Ravus revealed before he attached his mouth to her breast and started sucking as hard as he knew she liked as he buried himself to the hilt in her as her silky soft legs immediately locked around his waist and hips, making her keen as her fingernails raked down his back. “That we’ll wait to have kids until after the house is finished and we’re settled and we’ll have a few at least.” Ravus murmured into the valley between her breasts before sucking on the other as Selena’s hands went to thread themselves in his hair as his hips worked up a good rhythm, grinding himself into her just the way they both liked.

“And that you’ll be the hottest MILF ever, that if we have sons, all their friends will get crushes on you.” Ravus predicted with a bright smile as Selena giggled at that notion as he kissed back up her chest to her neck to the hottest button she had and pressed it firmly with his tongue and grinned wider when she moaned and her back arched off the bed.

“Will our daughter’s friends get crushes on you because you’ll be a DILF?” Selena asked breathlessly.

“Yeah, but I will always only have eyes for you.” Ravus reassured her.

“Well, yeah, I think that would be a given.” Selena giggled.

“And you’ll be the best mom ever and when we retire early, we get to enjoy our own grandkids a lot.” Ravus predicted with a beaming smile.

“Awww!” Selena gushed but she knew she could put faith in every word.

Meanwhile in Luna’s room, she was holding onto the bedding for dear life as Nyx went down on her, holding her ass with one hand while the other palpitated her G-spot as his mouth sucked her clit, his tongue swirling over her nub and she was panting, writhing and keening and crying out in bliss because this was magnificent and because the Escalade had been so full of their friends they couldn’t get away with car sex or even fingering and so between all that pent up passion and the high of finding her dream wedding dress and it looking even better on her than she could have imagined and knowing her Daddy would have been sobbing today looking at his Princess in the perfect gown and seeing her Dad- Regis and even Dorian cry to see her in it too had been all she wanted and needed and she knew the moment she put it on, it was her dress. It was perfect and that high of finding it had yet to leave her.

“Nyx!” Luna cried out as she came and rode his face as her orgasm flooded her senses, making her whole body tense before it finally went lax as her brain swam in the endorphins.

Nyx licked his lips and grinned proudly, being quite pleased with himself for being able to still be the best at giving her that pleasure.

“Wow,” Luna panted as she caught her breath as her whole body seemed to hum and buzz but her smile was still brighter than sunshine itself as Nyx kissed a trail up her body before sheathing himself into her and groaning at how good it felt. He had missed her something awful and hadn’t realized how much sex they usually shared until they had an audience and couldn’t.

Nyx started up an earnest if not slightly desperate pace, enough that it rattled the bed a bit but Luna wanted and needed it just as much as he did.

“Oh God,” Luna groaned as she clawed his back and clung to him for dear life as Nyx licked, kissed, sucked and softly bit at her neck and chest, leaving hickey after hickey in his mouth’s wake before he kissed her deeply, swallowing down every noise she was making as they both hurtled towards release before Luna cried out in ecstasy as her inner walls fluttered and constricted and milked Nyx for all he was worth as he finally pumped her so full of his seed it came seeping out at their joining.

“And that ladies and gentlemen, is how it’s done!” Luna crooned which got both of them to start busting out laughing before he rolled off of her but they still cuddled close as Nyx kissed all over her face as he held her close.

“I love you.” Nyx professed.

“I love you too.” Luna giggled as she returned his kisses, his stubble tickling her lips a little. “I can’t wait for tomorrow, we get to go house hunting! Well, apartment shopping. I really hope we can find a duplex so Crowe and Lib are right next door.” Luna hoped as she rolled over to rest on top of him.

“Me too,” Nyx grinned as he pet her hair and scratched her back.

“I’m so happy everything is falling into place, once we get a place, that’ll be one less thing to worry about. I actually really want to take the chocolate class and the bread and pastry classes, just the one day ones.” Luna revealed.

“Me too, I think they might try to steal you away from medical school though.” Nyx playfully warned which got Luna to laugh.

“Yeah no, I’m happy to learn all that stuff but it’s gonna stay at home because a chef is a busy life and our kids are gonna eat really well, because I’ll be the one cooking for them.” Luna insisted.

“I’m sure they will.” Nyx agreed with a proud beaming smile as his hand subconsciously went to her lower belly and gently stroked it affectionately. “But not yet.” Nyx added.  

“Agreed, not yet.” Luna nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile in Crowe and Libertus’ room. Libertus had a firm hold of Crowe’s hips and was driving into her so hard her whole body was practically shaking. It had taken everything he had to get her to stop fuming about Ada and rough sex seemed to be the last resort. So he had her laying back on the bed as he held her pelvis up in his hands while he stood on his knees and had her legs had wrapped around his waist and he has pounding into her as hard as he could, he was pretty sure his fingertips were leaving bruises but Crowe had begged and pleaded for ‘harder’ until he was at his current pace, but this angle meant his dick was hitting her G-spot so hard she had cum hard and fast but Libertus wasn’t done yet, he wanted to prove it to himself that he could get her to two. But the moans and keens and desperate cries Crowe was making the exertion worth it. He had been the only one brave enough and smooth enough to finger Crowe in the car since they had taken the far back seat while Luche sat in the front with Ravus while Nyx sat in the back with Selena and Luna and Crowe had done amazing in hiding her orgasm and had used a blanket and pillow to hide their actions and also to hide her jacking him off in turn as everyone but Ravus who was driving and listening to music seemed to doze off.

“Lib!” Crowe cried out as her legs clamped down around his waist and hips to hold him still as her second orgasm snapped and flooded her senses as Libertus just ground himself in her and used her own second orgasm to get him off finally as his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he huffed and puffed and groaned himself before they collapsed on the bed, tired and spent but sated and happy.

“Holy shit Lib, WOW. You are the fucking man!” Crowe praised as she curled herself around him before she took the sheet to wipe all the sweat from him as he panted to catch his breath.

“Thanks Babe.” Libertus grinned in triumph before they gave each other a fist bump with a chuckle before they moved up the bed to get settled for sleep.

“I’m so happy you found your dress today.” Libertus admitted as his limbs felt like rubber.

“Me too. God I didn’t think it was gonna happen for a minute there. But thankfully we got it.” Crowe smiled happily.

“And hopefully we’ll find a decent place tomorrow.” Libertus hoped.

“Me too, I’m not worried about it, chances are Luna and Nyx will buy it outright and we’ll “rent” from them. I missed my baby.” Crowe admitted, referring to the bulldog puppy Libertus had gotten her for graduation that was currently in it’s own little bed on the floor nearby but had been at the same kennel Luna and Nyx had put Pryna and Umbra while everyone else who had dogs had gone and taken their dogs to as well and would be getting some obedience training while they were gone too. It had been a little boy they named Oscar and he was the cutest puppy ever in their opinion and they had both fallen in love with him so dearly and Crowe felt like a proud mom for taking pictures of him almost constantly and posting them on Facebook and Instagram and felt like she couldn’t take a selfie without him, that puppy was going to be their ring bearer for the wedding. He was just precious, he was mostly gray but with splotches of white and so many wrinkles and rolls. He was perfect. But after they found a place, Crowe and Libertus would be going with Noctis and his friends and Pashmina had kept Diana with her the whole time and now Diana would have a playmate on the road. Libertus had held onto Oscar in his own ‘dog purse’ all day, occasionally going outside to let it go potty and taking care of it while Crowe was dress shopping.

“Me too, goodnight Babe,” Libertus offered before he settled in for sleep with Crowe cuddling up with his chest for a few moments of quiet bliss.  

“Oh and remind me to ask Sylva for more birth control, cause I ran out at Cedar Point and I keep forgetting to ask her...” Crowe mumbled sleepily as she fell asleep but Lib was already out.

Meanwhile in Pelna and Yasmine’s room, they were currently doing their favorite position from the literal Kamasutra. Pelna had felt a little guilty for having sex with Yasmine before marriage but as soon as they knew they were going to marry each other and had found their one and only in each other, it couldn’t be helped.

They had spent the majority of their own spring break in their room because finding opportunities to have sex at home was really hard but thankfully after prom, they were able to bang again at the Nox Fleuret-Caelum house but once they officially got engaged, both of their parents eased up a lot and especially once Pelna had proved to her parents by his own job offer at Miracles that he could and would take care of Yasmine, they were especially pleased by that and Pelna and Yasmine had even found an apartment together in a really nice, really upscale apartment complex that was a whole 7 minutes away from the hospital and her medical school and would be moving in together once they got back. Plus they were both really happy that they shared the same languages and culture and food tastes. Yasmine had since actually really learned how to cook traditional Indian food from her mother, her aunts and her grandmothers whereas before she had little interest in it and they were so happy she was now leaning towards more ‘traditional’ ways because she wanted to make Pelna happy and before meeting him, she had always had the view of ‘what could this guy do for me’ but since Pelna was unlike every other guy she had ever met and restored her faith in humanity. Plus he was fi-yi-yine in her opinion and treated her like a goddess and in return she liked to treat him like a god. Because he really was, so sweet and so humble and so thoughtful and super romantic and yet they were both super health conscious and helped each other stay super fit too. And that’s what Yasmine needed, she needed someone to keep her focused and driven yet would never fat shame her which was a hard balance to have and achieve but together they had that down pat.

“Purna!” Yasmine keened which is what Pelna’s name sounded like in Marathi as Pelna held onto one of her legs that was over his shoulder before he moved his hands to her pelvis to really pound into her as Yasmine threw her head back in bliss. “Come on, come on, come on!” Yasmine pleaded desperately as Pelna reached and tried to stroke her clit, he wasn’t great at it but he was trying to do his best and once Yasmine came, Pelna followed before he collapsed on the bed with her, both of them cuddling up to each other as they pulled the blankets up to cover themselves and settle down to sleep as they continued to coo to each other in Marathi like two love birds.

Meanwhile in Stella and Tredd’s room they were on their third round of sex and now that Tredd was mostly healed and didn’t have to be on the bottom anymore, Tredd was currently reminding Stella of the out of this world sex they had in the beginning of the relationship and Stella was barely hanging on for dear life because even she had almost forgotten how great he could be. Fuck he was almost too good because she was barely coming down from one orgasm before he was giving her another and she was flirting pretty hard with over-stimulation. She was almost ready to beg and plead for mercy and a break so she could recover but she was sucking on Tredd’s fingers again so he could work her clit like the maestro he was and neither of them wanted this to stop.

Meanwhile Luche was just jacking off again in his room next to Ravus and Selena, only for a new change, he wasn’t imagining Sylva this time, no, instead he was back to fantasizing about Ada and imagining her in a wedding dress of her own, one that she would wear to their own wedding, because he just...he wanted her back. To see her so sad and disappointed as she left Kleinfelds really tore him up, and to text her and find out that it was because of Cor’s pride that they were going home pissed him off to no end. At least he could say in clear conscience that he had never done that to her, would never dream of doing that to her either, if he could have her back, he would never make her choose like that because her love life and her social life would kinda be one and the same. There would be no telling the lengths he would go to to just make her happy. He would have given anything for Ada to find her own perfect wedding dress that day but he also knew that if she had looked she would have had Cor in mind of who she’d be wearing it for and that thought literally made him sick. Cor didn’t deserve her. Cor was fucking up, in Luche’s opinion, way worse than Luche had ever fucked up and he felt like he was powerless to help, to do anything to say anything. He had his hands tied and he hated it. He felt there was a line between respecting her and her decisions and letting her experience the consequences of her actions and her choices and actually saving her from the more tortuous aspects of those consequences. He felt she had been through enough, there had to be a stopping point somewhere. But as long as Ada continued to choose Cor over everyone else and anything else, there was nothing to be done on Luche’s end. But Luche swore to himself that if he ever got the chance, he’d take Ada back in a heartbeat, his mom would be pissed but he didn’t care, he still loved her damn it only now he was more educated and equipped to show that love properly. Ravus had estimated that Ada and Cor’s relationship was on it’s last legs and all it would take is for Cor to fuck up one more time and Ada would be done. Luche could and would wait for that. That’s why he wasn’t going to join the band’s tour because he didn’t want to get distracted or meet someone along the way. He was going to stay with Sylva, she would keep him focused and keep him working on himself as he waited. It would be worth the wait. Ada would be worth the wait.

Meanwhile Regis was currently finally succumbing to Sylva’s machinations as she rode him with reckless abandon as she ground down in his lap as she rode out her own orgasm, her own keening cry of bliss echoing in his ears as they held onto each other tightly.

“So I’ve been thinking.” Regis began as he looked at his wife adoringly as they both came down from their respective highs.

“Oh?” Sylva blinked in surprise.

“I’m thinking this fall, when we’re not running around so much with the kids, I should get my knee replaced, you’ve only been on me about it for five years, I think it’s time.” Regis announced and Sylva lit up ecstatically.

“Really?! Yes! Finally!” Sylva cheered as she bounced and cheered in his lap in excitement before peppering his whole face in kisses. “I’m so happy and proud that you finally decided to do that!!” Sylva praised before she kissed him earnestly and started up round two.

“So what changed your mind?” Sylva asked as she started up another earnest rhythm because that decision deserved it’s own reward.

“Well seeing Lunafreya and Selena in wedding dresses reminded me that we’d be getting grandkids soon and I really want to bounce them on my knee among other things, like take them fishing and stuff and I think it should heal completely before that happens.” Regis reasoned as Sylva was near tears at the thought of getting grandkids too before she just started giggling while crying happy tears at the same time.

“We are going to be getting so many grandkids we’ll run out of knees.” Sylva giggled as Regis kissed her tears away.

“Yeah? How many do you think we’ll get?” Regis asked.

“Oh over a dozen. At least, just between Lunafreya and Selena, Noctis and Ignis will probably only adopt a couple of kids.” Sylva predicted. “Chances are, Noct and Iggy will give us our first grandkids, all it will take is for a mother to abandon her baby in the nursery and Noctis will pick up that baby, wonder how any woman could do such a thing, fall head over heels in love and all of us will be shit out of luck trying to get that baby out of his arms.” Sylva revealed.

“Oh lord,” Regis chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” Regis had to admit.

“But again, I’ll try to keep him out of the nursery until after he and Iggy tie the knot.” Sylva offered.

“Thank you.” Regis thanked her. “So who do you think out of every couple today will be the first to get pregnant?” Regis asked.

“Oh Crowe and Libertus, hands down, followed closely by Gladio and Pashmina.” Sylva grinned.

[whumpwriterforlife]

Could I please request shaking and shivering with Cor? Your writing is so good!

Yes you can! Here you go, shaking and shivering with young Cor!

Shaking and Shivering

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Characters: Cor Leonis, Regis Lucis Caelum, Clarus Amicitia, Weskham Armaugh & Cid Sophiar

Whumpee: Cor Leonis

Word count: 3790

Warnings: Sickfic

Can be found on ao3 here

-----

“Wakey, wakey, Sunshine,” Clarus’ voice broke through the sleepy haze surrounding him and then there was a foot nudging him.

Cor grumbled and buried himself deeper into his sleeping bag. His head felt stuffy, his body aching in a way that made him want to do nothing but close his eyes and drift off again.

It was a luxury Clarus didn’t grant him.

Suddenly the world tilted, eliciting a startled yelp from Cor as he scrambled to hold onto the sleeping bag as Clarus dragged him out of the tent by the foot-end of the sleeping bag.

“Hey! You’re buying me a new one if this one gets torn!” He ended up sounding more whiny than anything as he swore at the Shield. Clarus dumped him in front of the fire unceremoniously and laughed as Cor tried — and failed — to smack him. Cor pouted.

“Ah, just in time for breakfast,” Weskham said from somewhere to his left, and Cor turned his head to see him walk over with a bowl of something in his hands. “Here, have some.”

Cor quietly accepted the bowl and peered down at its contents. It was oatmeal with nuts and fruit toppings. Normally he would have been ecstatic about it — it was definitely better than the weird sludge-like ratios they sometimes had — but he didn’t feel hungry this time. He poked some of the fruits with a spoon. Knowing Weskham, or any other of those damn motherhens, they wouldn’t let him get away with skipping the meal. With a resigned sigh, Cor shuffled his way out of the sleeping bag. He instantly missed the warmth of it as he settled down on one of the chairs surrounding the fire.

Regis gave him a curious look from across the fire but said nothing as he dug into the oatmeal. Cor pulled his legs to his chest, ignoring the dirty look Weskham sent his way at that, and slowly started working his way through the oatmeal. At least it was warm if nothing else.

“You’re looking awfully pale this morning. Are you feeling alright, Cor?” Weskham asked as he sat down in the chair next to him.

“I’m fine,” Cor replied and rolled his eyes. It was just a bad day, a minor cold at worst. There was no reason to worry the others with it when he could handle it.

“Are you sure?” Regis asked. “You do look off today.”

Weskham seemed to take this as an invitation to reach over to touch Cor’s forehead. Cor slapped his hand away and sunk deeper into the chair with an unhappy grumble. “Leave me alone. I’m fine.”

Clarus’ eyes narrowed. “Cor...”

Regis put his hand on Clarus’ arm and shook his head. “Let’s finish eating. We have a long day ahead of us.”

“Fine,” Clarus said and shrugged off Regis’ hand before going to get himself breakfast.

Cor stayed silent as they finished eating, barely even greeting Cid as the man appeared from who knows where. He scooted his chair slightly closer to the fire as a shiver raked through his body. It was late Fall, the beginning of the Winter really, and he blamed it on that. He still didn’t have a thick jacket, partly because it was a hindrance in a fight but also because of the cost. Hopefully they would get to the warmer parts of Lucis soon so he wouldn’t have to worry about getting one.

“What’s the plan for today?” Cor asked when the last of the bowls had been put away. They were all still sitting around the fire, watching as the sun rose higher in the sky.

“Well, while you were still sleeping and wasting daytime, Clarus and me went over to a local tipster and got ourselves a few hunts. Nothing too bad but enough to pay for Regalia’s repairs,” Cid told him and sent a glare in Regis’ direction at the last part. Cor snickered. It was the second time Regis had wrecked the Regalia since they had left Insomnia.

“Oh give it a break, Cid, that was hardly my fault,” Regis huffed and got up from his chair.

“You hit a parked car,” Clarus pointed out as he watched Regis disappear into the tent. “The only other car on the lot.”

“It shouldn’t have been parked there!” Regis protested.

“Whatever you say,” Clarus shook his head with a smirk.

Cid looked at the two of them for a moment before rolling his eyes. “The first job is to take care of a pack of saberclaw. According to the map, it takes thirty minutes to drive there and another thirty to hike to their last known location. From there, we’ll head towards Malmalam Thicket for our second hunt.”

“What’s the second hunt?” Cor asked, half dreading the answer. He had hoped the day would be easy, one he could spend sitting in a car, but of course that couldn’t be the case. At least, if he had done the math correctly, he would be able to get a few hours of sleep on the drive to Malmalam Thicket.

“Seadevils,” Clarus told him with an unsettling grin. He was just as much a daredevil as Cor was, even if he was better at hiding it. “Should be fun.”

Cor suppressed a groan. Neither hunt would be exactly easy and there would be no room for slip ups. He got up from his chair. “Right.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Weskham clapped his hands together and nodded. “We should all pack up so we can be on the road as soon as possible.”

Cor grabbed his sleeping bag from the ground and vanished it into the armiger without even bothering to roll it up. He got a few weird looks for it but ignored them as he went to grab his things from the tent.

“I’ll just go wait by the car.”

“No you don’t,” Clarus said and grabbed him by the back of his jacket before he could leave the haven. “It’s your turn to take down the tent.”

Cor yanked his jacket out of Clarus’ grip and glared at the man. Clarus glared right back at him.

This was going to be an awful day.

----

Cor felt like death warmed over. His feet felt leaden as he tried to keep up with everyone else as they hiked towards the Maidenwater Bridge and the second hunt of the day. He buried his face into the crook of his elbow to suppress a cough. Fortunately he was far enough behind the group that they didn’t notice. His condition had only worsened throughout the day. He was cold, frozen to the bone. He was wearing two long-sleeves and the thickest jacket he had — which admittedly wasn’t all that thick — but he was still shivering. His head felt stuffy and he was having a hard time focusing on anything. None of this was exactly good when hunting.

Cor was still committed to making it through the day. What kind of ‘guard would he be if he couldn’t do his job because of a little cold? There were so many people that doubted him, that were just waiting for him to fail and fall, many of them his fellow Crownsguards. He wasn’t going to give them that satisfaction which meant he would just have to power through the rest of the day, one way or another.

“Eos to Cor!” Cor’s head jerked up and he saw Clarus looking at him over his shoulder. The Shield gave him a pointed look. “Keep up, we’re almost there.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Cor rolled his eyes but took off in a jog to catch up to the guys.

He hoped the Seadevils wouldn’t put up too much of a fight. He had heard of them and knew roughly how they acted when engaged but he had never actually fought them. At least the Saberclaw pack hadn’t given them much trouble. No curatives had been used and no one had gotten injured. Well, no one if they didn’t count Regis tripping over a tree root when they had been on their way back to the Regalia. That had been hilarious.

They soon arrived at the bridge. It didn’t take long for them to see the Seadevils. There were five of them just chilling on the shoreline on the other side of the river. Cor pressed his lips into a thin line. They were larger than he had expected. Still manageable but more annoying.

“Well those look vicious,” Regis remarked dryly.

“Those jaws look like they’d have no trouble snapping any of us in half,” Weskham nodded as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I suggest we all exercise caution when approaching these creatures. Regis, my research indicates they’re weak to ice elemancy.”

“Excellent,” Regis grinned and Cor glanced at him just in time to see his hands flash light blue. Clarus patted him on the shoulder with a laugh and summoned his broadsword. They were both way too excited about this hunt. Cor would have most likely been right there with them, all ready to fight, if he hadn’t been feeling like shit.

“Let’s get this over with before sundown, don't wanna be stuck out here when the daemons come out,” Cid told them, sounding as grouchy as ever as he started crossing the bridge. Clarus grabbed Regis and was quick to follow him.

Cor sighed, pulling out his katana from the armiger as he walked after the trio. He only made it a couple of steps before there was a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Weskham looking at him with worry. “Yeah?”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Weskham asked him. “You’re all pale and don’t quite seem to be your usual energetic self today. If you need to-”

“I’m fine, Wesk,” Cor told him, more forceful than he needed as he pulled away from the man. He needed to see this through and could rest when they were back at camp. “The others are going, I don’t want to fall behind.”

Weskham pressed his lips together, clearly less than happy with Cor, but said nothing. Cor took that as his cue to pick up the pace to catch up to everyone else.

Regis and Clarus had already thrown themselves into the fight like the adrenaline junkies that they were and Cid wasn’t far behind them with his trusty spear. Cor jogged down to the shore, ignoring how lightheaded and out of breath it made him feel as he attacked the Seadevil closest to him.

He let his training and instincts take over from there, striking and slashing wherever he could as he avoided ending up a snack. The teeth on those things were large and sharp. If that wasn’t enough, they also shot water out of their mouths with pressure that would easily knock any one of them over. Cor hissed as he twisted out of the way when one Seadevil lunged at him, its jaws snapping shut with a downright terrifying snap. He staggered, barely managing to keep his balance. Adrenaline was a huge help, possibly the only thing keeping him upright at this point, but he was lacking his usual finesse.

It became even more evident when he was forced to evade yet another attack. He staggered, the sleeve of his jacket getting torn in the process as he yanked it out of the beast’s maw. A hand on the shoulder stabilized him, and he craned his neck to see Cid behind him.

“You need to be more careful, kid,” Cid told him. Then he was off, back into the fight.

Cor shook his head and muttered a curse under his breath. He was starting to feel a hint of frustration at how badly he was performing.

“Cor!”

Cor spun on his heels at Clarus’ shout but a heavy weight collided with him before he could see the situation. He gasped, his foot catching on a rock as he tried and failed to recover his balance. His katana disappeared in a flash of blue, a startled yelp escaping his lips as he fell into the freezing cold water.

He gasped for breath. The icy water soaked through his clothes in an instant. He couldn’t breathe. Cold. It was so cold. His whole body felt stiff, and he tried to push himself onto his elbows to get out of the water but they gave out from beneath him. He was shivering worse now.

“Regis get him out of here!”

There was sloshing as someone ran into the water and cursed at the coldness of it. A moment later there were hands propping Cor into a sitting position. Regis said something, his eyes tight with concern as he looked at him but Cor was too busy catching his breath to register the words. Regis threw his sword and his grip around Cor tightened. The world lurched in and out of focus and Cor’s stomach churned dangerously. Then they hit the ground by the bridge, away from the fight.

Cor screwed his eyes shut, a strained noise slipping from his lips as he shivered violently. “Regis-”

Regis pulled him into a better position and started tugging off his jacket. “We need to get you out of these wet clothes.”

“But- but the h-hunt,” Cor pointed out. He was still struggling to catch his breath, his teeth chattering together.

“The others can take care of it, we need to make sure you won’t get hypothermic.” Regis stated sternly and threw Cor’s jacket aside. Cor frowned softly, almost tempted to whine as he looked at the rock pile where his jacket landed. It was his best jacket and Regis had just thrown it away like it was nothing. Cor was about to turn and tell him to fetch it but he was overtaken by a coughing fit. He whimpered.

“Cor, look at me.”

Cor’s gaze flicked over to Regis, only to flinch when he reached over to touch his forehead. He tried to move away but his stiff muscles refused to obey him.

“Shit, you’re burning up,” Regis cursed as he pulled his hand away. “Have you been sick this whole day? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It’s nothing,” Cor shook his head, regretting it when he was hit by a dizzy spell.

“It’s clearly not ‘nothing’!” Regis retorted. He ran a hand through his hair and muttered something unflattering under his breath. “Astrals, that explains a lot. We just thought you were mad at Clarus for what happened in the morning.”

Cor made a confused noise.

Regis sighed. “We’ll talk about this later. We still need to get you out of those wet clothes and away from here.”

The good thing about the armiger was that it made carrying items easy and was always accessible. Regis helped Cor out of his wet clothes quickly and into a pair of warm sweats and a coat he happened to have lying around — floating around? — in the armiger. Cor had tried to tell him he could do it on his own but the way he was shaking told Regis otherwise.

“How’s the kid?”

Cor looked up to see the rest of the guys walking over to them, having taken care of the Seadevils.

“The ‘kid’ is right here.” He glared at them but the effect was ruined when another shiver shook his frame.

“He’s running a fever,” Regis said. “Been sick the whole day most likely if not longer.”

“Could you guys stop talking like I wasn’t here?”

“You what?” Clarus asked, brow furrowed as he looked at Cor. “Is that true?”

Cor shrugged. It was no use hiding the truth anymore. “Yeah, but it’s-”

“And you didn’t think to tell us? Do you realize how stupid that was!” Clarus exclaimed as he cut him off. Cor clenched his jaw and dropped his gaze to the ground as the Shield continued, “Your job is to keep Regis safe and then you just neglected to tell us-”

“Clarus,” Regis admonished him.

“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you!” Cor snapped, getting to his feet even as he swayed dangerously. Regis was quick to take him by the arm and stabilize him. Cor didn’t brush him off. “If I had told you, you would have left me behind and been one man short! I did my job, I wasn’t going to let a minor cold take this from me!”

At the end of his tirade, he felt all the energy drain out of him and faltered. Regis wrapped both of his arms around him to keep him from falling.

Clarus opened his mouth to say something but Regis silenced him with a sharp look.

No one said anything for a moment but eventually Cid broke the silence. He shook his head as he glanced at each member of the group. “The sun won’t be up for much longer. We need to find a haven.”

“No, we’re going back to the car,” Regis said as he pulled one of Cor’s arms over his shoulders and wrapped his other arm around his waist. His tone left no room for arguments. “We’re finding a motel for the night.”

“We’ll need to move fast then.” Weskham walked over to where most of Cor’s wet clothes had been discarded and picked them up. “The roads are perilous at night.”

“Right, we should get going then,” Clarus sighed. He crossed the gap between him and Cor, sliding the kid’s hand over his shoulders to support him from the other side.

Cor had a childish urge to push Clarus away after the outburst but he had very little energy left. He shivered, taking a shuddering breath as they started walking. His feet were stiff and sore, as was his whole body, and Regis and Clarus ended up having to support most of his weight. They kept up a steady stream of chatter and made Cor participate so he didn’t fall asleep. At a few points during their trek to the car, they had to stop when Cor got overcome with violent coughing fits that left him unsteady and gasping for air. It was clear that his impromptu river bath had only made his condition worse.

They eventually got to the Regalia, where he was safely tucked to the back seat with Weskham, Regis, and their best-equipped first-aid kit. They denied Cor the warm blanket in it which elicited a barely suppressed whine out of him.

“You have a high fever,” Weskham kindly informed him, as if Cor hadn’t been aware of that before the stupid thermometer had beeped with 39,4 °C. “We need to get your temperature down, not up.”

“I’m cold,” Cor complained as he wrapped his arms around himself.

“You just feel cold,” Weskham replied as he dug through the first-aid kit for something.

“Same difference.”

Regis snorted and patted Cor on the shoulder. Cor pouted. At least one of them was having fun.

A moment later Weskham pushed a water bottle into Cor’s hand and offered him two pills. “These should help lower your fever. Take them and drink as much of the water as you can.”

Cor took the pills as ordered and managed to down nearly half of the water before giving it back to Weskham. He then pointedly ignored everyone in the car, except for Regis and his comfy shoulder that was acting as his makeshift pillow, as he closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for the steady rumble of the car to lull him to sleep.

He stirred an indeterminate amount of time later when a car door slammed shut. His nose scrunched up and he made a soft, disgruntled noise at being woken up. Someone chuckled above him, and it was then that he realized he was not in the car anymore. It took a moment longer for him to pick up on the fact that someone was carrying him. If he had had any more energy, he would have been mortified, but as it was, he could barely crack his eyes open to see it was Regis.

Regis looked down at him, a playful smile on his lips. “Go back to sleep, Cor. We just arrived at the motel.”

Cor blinked at him blearily as his brain registered the words. He licked his lips and frowned. “I can walk.”

“Of course you can,” Regis stated matter-of-factly but didn’t even pretend to put him down. “And I can carry you.”

“Just let him do it, kid,” Cid said. Cor craned his neck to see the man walking a few steps behind them. “Reggie can and will outstubborn you this time.”

Cor huffed. Regis carried him into their motel room and lowered him on one of the beds. He closed his eyes and flopped down on his back, only for his head to snap up a moment later when he felt hands tugging on his boots.

“What are you doing?” “Taking off your shoes,” Clarus said, rolling his eyes.

“I can-” Cor started and went to sit up.

Cid pushed him back down. “Wesk wants you to take it easy, so take it easy.”

“I can take off my own shoes!” Cor grumbled but didn’t try to get up again.

“Let us take care of you for once,” Regis said as he sat down next to Cor. Clarus muttered something about how it would have been nice to have some help with the boots but Regis ignored him. “You’re our brother, we want to help.”

Cor turned his head to look at Regis. He wondered if the fever was making him hear things. “But-”

“But nothing,” Regis cut him off. “You worried us today, Cor. You could have been badly injured. We know you’re as stubborn as can be, but we need you to tell us if you’re sick or injured in any way. Out here we’re on our own and need to take care of each other.”

“I’m sorry,” Cor sighed.

Regis smiled. “It’s okay. Try to get some rest. We’ll wake you up when we have food.”

Cor hummed, eyes falling shut once again. Regis helped him get under the covers and Cor offered no complaints this time. When he felt Regis start to rise, he reached out to grab his arm.

“Regis? About the brothers thing.”

“What is it?”

Cor smirked. “Cid’s old enough to be my grandad…”

There was a crashing sound somewhere in the room, followed by swearing. “How old does that brat think I am?”

“Probably sixty or something,” Clarus muttered in amusement.

“Listen here, Amicitia, I could-”

“Cid! Clarus-” Regis began but the words turned into incoherent mush as Cor drifted off. Hopefully the motel would be still standing when he woke up.

[ff15trashgoldenslumbers]

Uhhh Second Read

I have no idea what number I’m on anymore...

~~~~~

Noctis

So many parties! If Noctis didn’t know he’d be caught by Ignis and that it would make his father upset to not witness, he would have eloped with you. But no he had to do this by royal protocol, and royal protocol meant weeks of engagement parties, and fancy dinners.

Still, he had to admit if he had to go through it with anyone he was so happy it was you. You standing so proudly by his side, showing off all the Princess training that Ignis and your tutors put you through. It also meant that he got to see you in all those pretty dresses. He was so busy admiring you that he almost missed his cue to address the Duke, Duchess and their daughter, who had quite the crush on the Prince.

“A pleasure!” The Duchess cooed, before nudging her daughter who was staring so at Noctis. The Duchess’s eyes turned to you standing beside Noctis, Ignis flanking the two of you, hissing between her and her daughter, as Noctis was greeting the Duke.

‘My gods, you’d think the commoner would even attempt to try to impress royalty.’

The Duchess daughter let out a snicker in their native language, ‘I know Mummy, She looks ridiculous.’

Noctis wasn’t certain what she had muttered, but heard the offending intake of air from Ignis behind him, watching his advisor step forward. Only to stop as you rose your hand halting Ignis with a smile.

‘My Duchess, at least one of us knows the meaning of modesty.’ You replied to the shocked face of the Duchess and Princess in their native tongue, offering them your hand as was protocol. ‘After all, why would I need to impress anyone other than my husband. Unlike some persons.’

The Duke stammered, as he pressed a kiss to your hand and ushered his family off the platform.

Noctis stared in confusion, “What was that?”

You smiled toward the Prince hearing Ignis chuckle softly, “Oh nothing seems my dress is the talk of the night.”

~~~~~

Prompto

This was fun!

You couldn’t help the large stupid smile on your face as you watched these four brave men running around after the Cuddle of Chocobos that managed to be playing keep-away with Prompto’s camera. 

How they even got the camera was in itself a mystery. Yet none of the guys would ever get close enough to the Chocobo to even have a chance of getting the strap. Lucky the camera was in its shockproof case when it was taken so there was no worry about it accidentally shattering.

“Y/N, aren’t you going to help?” Prompto called.

You put on a bright over the top smile to your boyfriend, “What’s in it for me?”

Prompto stopped chasing the Chocobo along with the others as they all stared at you.  Only to hear you cackling as you moved towards the battlefield, asking everyone to politely stand behind you.

“I get dinner choice tonight and for the next two hotel stops.” You stated over your shoulders, before turning back to the Chocobo.  Waiting for one to run by as you reached out without a second thought and managed to climb on without a harness to guide you.

Leaping from Chocobo to Chocobo before managing to get to the one holding the camera, reaching forward taking a hold of the lanyard, before prying its mouth open to get your prize. Manging to flip off its back landing before the guys.

“And here you are.” You smiled.

“Y/N, where are Eos did you learn that?” Ignis inquired.

You gave that same over the top smile, “You guys don’t know everything about me.” Only for your eyes to turn to Prompto as you heard him mutter. “Nothing’s broken is it, Sweetie?”

“Holy shit, my girlfriend’s a superhero.”

~~~~~

Gladiolus

You would never forget the first time you were invited to the annual Amicita camping trip. Having been Gladiolus'  girlfriend, and Clarus seeing just how head over heels you were for each other, the man invited you along. 

Now to say that the elder Amicita didn’t like you was wrong, he liked you cause you would be on his son's case when he wasn’t, and you brought out the best in Gladiolus. The thing being, you were very “Girly”. Not that he had an issue with that. 

At any party that could be thrown into, he knew that you had it in the bag. 

It was just that they would be camping in tents in nature for the next few days, and you were known for your fashion-forward dresses, and your long nails and always styled hair. You just didn’t scream nature, yet Gladiolus was so insistent on you coming along, and Iris was finally happy to have some girl time.

“You got it, babe?” Gladiolus called, as you followed them up the cliffs where you all would be camping for the evening.

“Yep.” You smiled back with a slight pant.

“Gladiolus carry Y/Ns, backpack for her.” Clarus called, “I raised you better than that.”

“Oh it’s fine Mr. Amicitia, I just somehow got a rock in my shoe.” You smiled, sitting down on the boulder to remove said rock.

“Have you been camping before Big Sis?” Iris asked as you relaced your boots.

“It’s been a while, I had to replace a lot of gear.” You smiled, before turning to the others. “Are we ready?”

Gladiolus pointed beyond the cliff peak, “We’re heading over there and will set up camp on the other side of the pasture.” 

“Ready whenever you are.” 

Clarus looked to his son, couldn’t Gladiolus see that you were struggling. Maybe they should stop prior to the pasture so that you didn’t wear yourself out. It would be the first year that the Amicitia’s didn’t come out in their spot, but if it meant it was easier on you, they would have to deal with the sacrifice this time.

So while making their way down, Clarus turned toward the rest of his party announcing they would be camping there for the evening.

“Dad, we still have plenty of light, we can make it to the camping spot in no time,” Gladiolus replied.

Clarus stared at his son, before turning a glancing toward you, “We don’t want to push ourselves.” 

“It’s not that big, an hour tops, right?” You smiled standing between Gladiolus and Iris.

Clarus tried to argue but figured there would be no harm in turning around.

So when an Alphatusk suddenly attacked midway through the field, he was quick to tell you to move back with Iris, only to instead find you grabbing something from your bag and rushing pass Gladiolus, your left hand coming up only to find blade claws on your hands, and the way you moved showed that you had plenty of practice in them.

No more than 10 minutes later, did you all stand on the defeated enemy, as you removed your claws attaching them back to your bag. “Everyone okay, I have some first aid in my...”

You were stopped in your tracks as Clarus hugged you tightly, “Mr. Amicitia?”

“I apologize for being so judgemental.” 

You were confused for a moment only to look over his shoulder to his children who were struggling to hold back their laughter. “Did you two not tell him that I was trained!?”

~~~~~

Ignis

“Your Majesty please.” Ignis groaned as Noctis picked apart his meal for the evening. All the vegetables being pushed over to either his or your plates.

“Ignis, it's fine.” You cooed to your boyfriend, stroking his arm. “Noctis is a grown man and should be allowed to make his own choices.” 

Ignis stared at you in confusion, only to find you give him a warm smile before starting on your own meal.

“See, Specs, at least Y/N loves me,” Noctis replied rather smugly.

“Noctis, Ignis loves you more than anything.” You giggled.

“Please don’t encourage him, Love.”  Ignis sighed.

As dinner was cleared from the table, you leaned over picking up Noctis’s glass. “Noct did you enjoy your smoothie. I can make more if you want.” 

“Really? Thanks, Y/N.” Noctis cheered.

“I’ll get you one too, Prompto.” You smiled moving into the kitchen where Ignis was washing dishes.

Ignis glanced as you began setting up the blender, watching as you placed in a few fruits, followed by a ton of vegetables and blending it until it appeared a pink color, topping it with a few more strawberries.

“Love, have you been...”

“Putting enough vegetables in his smoothies for the last two weeks to take down a King Behemoth? Yes, yes I have.” You smiled.

Ignis could only chuckle as you moved back out to the living room to give the two younger boys their smoothies. He knew that he loved you for a reason.

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

Heart of Thunder - Chapter 05

It’s finally done! Sorry for the long wait.

Here’s the Link to AO3.

In which there are two awkward conversations.

Featuring: Cor catching the feels, Monica's exasperation, Regis being a good friend, Nyx being very nervous about all of this and the author's lack of restraint when it comes to worldbuilding.

List of words in Hadnissa:

Galahkari = people of Galahd kohna = swearword; along the lines of shit

Cor was tired. People wouldn't know by looking at him, he still wore the same serious frown he always did and there were no dark circles around his eyes to be seen. The only way people would know that Cor had spent the majority of the night either staring into the darkness of his bedroom or a cooling cup of tea was, if they knew him well enough to know his tells.

Those people would look at the way he had arrived at his office hours before he was supposed to, at the way he hoarded any cup of coffee he could get his hands on and how he would carefully refrain from snapping at the people around him. They would maybe offer him a fresh cup, shove packets of nuts and maybe a banana or two into his hands and then execute a strategic retreat.

Mostly he suffered sleepless nights due to nightmares, which Cor had plenty reasons to have. He had been dumb and reckless as a teenager and the trouble he had gotten himself into had often times been more than he had been able to swallow. Not that he had admitted that back then. Pitioss, he still had trouble today doing it with people he trusted explicitly.

Last night however, it hadn't been the nightmares keeping him up. It hadn't been the face of the first person he killed when he had been thirteen and Mors had found him, nor the countless dead he had been forced to assassinate for the dead king afterwards, or the absolute panic he had felt when he had first laid eyes on the hazy form of Gilgamesh. On the very bad days the hollow rasp of the ancient... being's voice followed him into his waking moments even so many years after it had happened.

No, last night hadn't been that.

Instead, what had kept him up had been the thought of his new fiancée. And even after a sleepless night and his third cup of coffee, he still had no real idea what he was supposed to do now.

Cor leant back into his comfy leather chair and stared at the bag of sunflower seeds Monica had left with a small stack of files on his desk not too long ago. He needed to get back to work, he knew that. A war didn't fight itself and there was a whole lot more paperwork involved than he had expected, when he had first been named Marshal.

Now he sat there, his eyes shifting from the files towards his latest cup of coffee despite the urgency he felt to get the work done.

With a sigh he leaned forward and unlocked the most private drawer of his desk. Normally he stored some of the more sensitive files he was working on in there, which consisted mostly of mission reports and the most recent information his network had sent him. Right now Cor wasn't interested in any of those. It was still well before the regular workday was supposed to start, so he still had some time.

On top of the small pile lay the personal file of one Nyx Ulric.

He had gone to retrieve it so early this morning that the secretary hadn't been there yet, the night guard had gone to take a smoke break – he was going to have words with the man – and he knew the access logs were rarely checked. Which was another worrying slip in security, but worked in his favour in this instance.

The filing room had been an organisational mess. Nothing had been misfiled exactly, but it had taken him longer to locate the file he wanted, than he was comfortable with. Back in his office he had put it in his most protected drawer and had tried to do some actual work.

Cor caught himself staring at it every few minutes.

With an exasperated sigh, and slightly irritated at himself, he put the folder on the desk in front of him. It sat there, innocently, its slightly yellow pages worn down further than he had expected. He scowled.

Cor knew this was probably not his best idea. In fact, a quiet voice in the back of his mind that sounded suspiciously like Clarus, continuously warned him against doing this. But he needed to know more about the man he would bind himself to – had already bound himself to. So he ignored his inner Clarus and opened the file.

The first thing he noticed was the slightly younger Nyx staring back at him. There were shadows in his eyes that shone through the threadbare mask of professionalism and told him of an inner rage he hadn't seen in the older Nyx. Maybe he was just better at hiding it now. Cor had no illusion of all of that pent up anger being gone.

The younger Nyx' hair was bound into a tail, the sides not yet cut short, with his braids hanging free. Otherwise he looked much the same.

On the next page was information Cor was more interested in at the moment.

A knock on his door made him look up.

“Marshal,” sounded Monica's voice as the door opened, “these just came in from the Border Patrol.”

His Lieutenant stepped into his office, another folder in her hand. She strode up to his desk without further ceremony and stopped in astonishment as her gaze fell upon the untouched stack she had left there half an hour ago.

“Marshal?” she asked, worry shining in her eyes.

Cor shook his head as a signal for her to leave it be. And normally she would have, he knew, but then she saw the file that lay open before him. An eyebrow rose in disbelief.

“Why do you have the personal file of a Kingsglaive on your desk, Marshal?” Monica hesitated for a split second before her face set into that expression she made when she was about to hunt down some security leaks. “Is there something I need to know?”

For a split second Cor wished there was a convenient MT near so he could cut it down with all due prejudice. Nyx – his fiancée – wasn't the leak they had tried to track for years now. The man was one of the most loyal soldiers he had ever met, and since he knew Clarus Amicitia that was saying something.

He shook his head. “No,” he said. “This isn't about the leak.”

“Then what? Marshal, unauthorized access to personal files of people not directly under your command can get even you in very deep trouble. Please tell me you didn't leave any evidence.”

Raising an eyebrow at his Lieutenant with a deadpan stare, he closed Nyx' file and watched as she sighed and sat down on the couch by the wall. Suddenly he got the feeling that this hadn't been a very good idea.

“Why did you pull the file?” asked Monica and managed to sound in equal parts exasperated and resigned.

Cor opened his mouth to answer and stopped. How was he supposed to tell her when he himself didn't really understand what had happened? He looked at her. She looked back. Monica Elshett was one of the few people he trusted absolutely.

“What do you know about Galahdian culture?” he asked at last.

Monica blinked, startled at the sudden question that seemed completely unrelated. She furrowed her brow as she started to seriously think about the question.

“Not very much, to be honest,” she admitted hesitantly. “It's all very basic knowledge. They have their own religion, as far as I can tell they don't deny the existence of the Six but refuse to acknowledge any authority they have. It's a magic flask waiting to blow, especially with the Bladed Temple. They organize in clans, have their own language and braids are important. But I cannot tell the significance or how it is decided who wears which braid. They are very insular and secretive over their culture in general.” She paused for a second. “What did you do?”

Cor didn't snort. No, he didn't. Why did everybody always think he did something?

“Do you remember the patrol I went on?”

“The poachers, yes,” she answered. “You claimed some of the skins as battle-spoils. Lords Hypocris, Caulis and Sagitta weren't happy about it.”

At the reminder of the three Lords he'd had to talk to yesterday, his mood soured. Cor knew there was something going on. He doubted it had anything to do with the leak in the military he had been tasked with hunting down, but corruption was corruption, and it happening so blatantly on his home turf was unacceptable. He made a mental note to look further into them over the coming days.

“Yes,” he hummed at last. “For the Galahkari – which is what Galahdians call themselves – coeurls are very close to holy animals, as far as I can tell. Last year there was a mission I was on with three of the Glaives, Bellum, Arra and Najad. There was a Niff patrol, bigger than had been anticipated, and we had two injured Crownsguard with us. They were gaining on us so we hunkered down in a forest to wait until they gave up the search. The patrol came upon a den that was home to a small pack of coeurls not far from us and the Glaive abandoned their cover to defend them. It was one of the stupidest things I have ever seen.”

Monica cast him a dry look at his last sentence, which Cor soundly ignored.

“Coeurls are important to their culture,” he continued. “So when I found coeurl skins among the poachers' prey, I thought it a good idea to lay claim on them and gift them to the Galahkari as a gesture of goodwill.”

“So that is why those three Lords wanted to speak to you. A single coeurl skin can be worth hundreds of thousands of Yen,” realized Monica.

“I selected the biggest and went to the Kingsglaive headquarters to give it to Nyx Ulric, explaining that the others would follow as soon as the investigation was closed.”

“Sir Ulric?” Monica asked surprised. “Why not Titus? He is their Captain and also half Galahdian himself. He knows the culture better than any of us.”

“True,” nodded Cor and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “But after the incident last year I heard Najad tell the Bellum and Arra that Sir Ulric would have any right to murder them, if they had let the coeurls die without trying to rescue them.”

What he didn't want to tell her was that he had wanted to give it to Titus at first, but he hadn't been able to find the man anywhere. Nor did he tell her that the pelt with its size and colouring was probably scratching the one million Yen mark when it came to worth. His Lieutenant made a disbelieving face but didn't say anything. Cor took a sip of his now cold coffee with a straight face.

“So you made Sir Ulric a ridiculously expensive gift in the hope to bridge some of the divide between the citizens and them. I'm assuming the file on your desk is his?”

The Marshal nodded.

Monica sighed. “This still doesn't explain why, Marshal.”

“We're engaged,” Cor not quite mumbled, but it was close. He wasn't embarrassed talking about this. He wasn't. But there was a strange pressure in his chest as he admitted his new status to his Lieutenant.

For a few long seconds everything was silent in the office as Monica stared at him with a blank expression.

“Marshal – Cor,” she started, each word carefully enunciated, as if she was afraid to have forgotten how to, “I must have misheard. Did I just hear you tell me you got engaged?”

He nodded.

“You weren't in a relationship yesterday.”

It was half a question and half a statement. He nodded again. Utterly exasperated his only close female friend pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

“How?” she asked into her hand with a tone edging on desperation. Before Cor could answer she continued. “No, forget the how. Why did you think it was a good idea to get engaged to a man as controversial as Nyx Ulric? If the success rate of his missions wasn't as high as it is and his magic compatibility so far above average it's not even funny, he would have been dishonourably discharged more than once already. Some of the stunts he pulled border on insubordination.”

Cor bit back the first comment burning on his tongue. Of course he knew what people were saying about the man. It was mostly the nobility at court wagging their tongues, but sometimes the press got wind of it. Cor himself had seen some of the mission reports. What Nyx mostly got accused of was the refusal to obey orders. Most of those orders involved leaving people behind or something similar. If he were honest, he wouldn't have followed those orders either. They were absolutely dumb. He had to wonder however when the rumours had grown so out of hand that even Monica seemed to believe some of them.

“I gave Nyx the coeurl skin in front of people he considers his family and in Galahdian culture that's enough for it to be considered a proposal,” he explained.

“I don't understand. And Sir Ulric accepted? Does something like this even count when you didn't to it with the intention to propose?”

She was absolutely baffled. He couldn't blame her.

“As far as I understand it, he couldn't say no without there being serious cultural repercussions. We agreed to go through with it.”

“And that's why you pulled his file?”

He didn't answer, feeling oddly guilty about it all of the sudden.

Monica sighed again. “That's not how you get to know your spouse, Marshal. That's what dates are for. Take Sir Ulric out to a nice restaurant, go see a play, Pitioss, take him out to kill some daemons for all I care, but by Bahamut's bladed wings, talk to him. This,” she gestured towards where the file laid on his desk, “is not how you built trust with the person you intend to marry.”

Cor listened seriously to every word she had to say, and nodded. What she said was logical. Getting to know his fiancée would take time, but it would be time well spent. Hmm, hunting daemons sounded like a very good idea, actually. There was a new nest in Leide that was encroaching on the bridge connecting Insomnia with the rest of Lucis.

When she saw him nod, Monica's shoulders sagged a bit in relief. He raised a brow as he watched her stand up from the couch and walk towards his desk in two long strides. She set the folder she still carried down on the stack she had brought earlier and plucked up Nyx' file with a determined face.

“Good. I'll put this back and make sure no one will ever find out about this. Please try to do some work done. Oh, and I better be invited to the wedding, Marshal.” With that she turned around and left his office muttering something under her breath he couldn't understand.

Well, he thought as he stared after her bemusedly, that was that.

The hours until his lunch break Cor spent reading file after file and signing more papers than he cared to count. Progress was slower than he might have liked, but he managed to go through with most of it and had decided it wouldn't hurt to get an hour or two of training in after lunch. He desperately needed to clear his head.

Maybe he could make a date out of an afternoon training with Nyx? After all, it was perfectly normal to do activities with your spouse you both were interested in, right? That's what dating was supposed to be about.

There was a knock on his door just as he set his signature beneath a form requesting the use of a Kingsglaive training ground. The word 'denied' was stamped in big, bold, red letters on top of the page. This wasn't the first time he had seen a request like this and it made no sense at all to him. The Crownsguard had enough space to train in. Most of those spaces were better equipped than the Glaives training grounds, too. Much to his ire.

“Come in,” he called and set the form aside.

The door opened and in stepped the person that had occupied the majority of his thoughts since they had went their separate ways yesterday, with a nervous grin on his face and still in his training uniform.

“Nyx,” said Cor in way of greeting.

“Hey,” greeted his fiancée and closed the door behind him.

Curiously he glanced around the office as he walked towards him. It was a larger room than Cor needed with enough space to fit at least two other large desks into it, but Regis had insisted. Something about status and publicity or some such rot. What had made him accept the office in the end had been his friend's pleading face when he had suggested it, after he had been promoted to Marshal.

Nyx was halfway around the desk when Cor remembered the Galahdian way to greet family and stood up. A bout of nervousness shot through his system. Their foreheads met gently and Nyx' nervous grin turned into a barely there blush and a pleased smile. Cor could feel the corner of his mouth tick up into a tiny smile of his own. His stomach lurched and a comfortable warmth spread in his chest. It was strange. He usually didn't like to be touched all that much. They took half a step back from each other a heartbeat later.

Cor cleared his throat to avoid the awkward silence looming above their heads. “Why did you come here?”

“Shouldn't I have?” asked the younger man, his head tilted towards the left like a curious cat and his tone abashed.

“No, no,” Cor hurried to say. “I have nothing against it. I just did not expect you to come.”

By Bahamut's scaly hide, this wasn't a great start at all. He wanted to kick himself. Why was it so damned hard to talk to this man? Nyx gave an awkward smile and tugged at one of his braids. It was a normally braided one with another strand of hair twisted around it. There were three beads in it in different colours and forms, all looked like precious or semi-precious stones. He wondered what significance there was to it.

“I came to ask something,” Nyx started and tugged at his braid again. It was clearly a nervous habit.

“Yes?” prompted Cor after a few seconds of silence.

“How fast can you get an audience with the King?” the Glaive rushed to ask.

Surprised, Cor raised an eyebrow. “At once, if it's an emergency. Did something happen?”

His fiancée shook his head, clearly searching for the right words and Cor was contend to let him. This was clearly important to him, so Cor had no desire to rush this.

“It's a culture thing, I think,” Nyx said at last. “I don't know how you Lucians do it but since you proposed to me in the tradition of my people I need to give you a, hmm, Gift of Acceptance – I guess would be the correct translation.”

Aha.

“What do you need the audience for, then?”

“That's the thing. When I give my gift to you, there need to be witnesses. It has to be family.”

“I don't have living family left,” Cor said with a frown and a smidge of worry.

Nyx blinked, clearly confused. “But you have family,” he stated like it was the most obvious thing.

Cor felt like he was missing something. “My parents have been dead for a very long time. I don't have siblings and neither had they.”

“Oh!” exclaimed Nyx. “No, family doesn't mean there has to be a blood relation. It's the people you are closest to.” He muttered something in the foreign language the Galahkari had, clearly searching for words. “Those you have hunted and fought besides. Those you have survived great odds with, that walked beside you and never abandoned you.”

At once he realized why Nyx had asked how fast he could get an audience. He felt kind of ridiculous that he hadn't realized himself what the other had been trying to say. It was so obvious in hindsight.

“You want to do it in front of Regis and Clarus,” he said and had to admire the other man's guts.

Nyx nodded. A determination shone in his blue eyes that set Cor's heart aflutter.

“When?”

“What?”

“When do you need the audience? And do I need to know something concerning this gift giving?” he added.

“Oh. Before the week is over would be best. Shortly after lunch break. I need to bring witnesses myself since your family isn't Galahdian and we need at last one other Galahkar to verify that you accepted the gift. It's more of a formality than anything else, but better safe than sorry. You don't need to do much, there aren't any traditional words or anything. Those fell out of practice ages ago. You just need to accept it and wear it,” Nyx explained.

“Wear it,” Cor asked, crossing his arms.

“Yeah,” said Nyx and lifted his hand as if to touch him, but let it fall to his side again. “Normally I would braid your hair, but that isn't going to work.” No it really wasn't. “The alternative is a necklace. The Gift of Acceptance can honestly be anything, but after the Gift of Declaration you gave me that's really the only answer I can give.”

So there was something very significant about that necklace. Cor was nearly afraid to ask. “Is there something special about this necklace?”

Another tug at the braid. “It's... ah, kohna. It's the most significant way we have to declare something. Way back, before my people settled on Galahd, we used braids as a means of communication. We still do, but then it literally was vital to our survival. It's how the different wandering groups warned each other of danger and passed news along when they weren't able to talk due to the high scrutiny of the Lucians. With the necklace, that's simply a substitute to a braid, I'm basically declaring you one of us.”

Which must be a huge fucking deal considering how insular the Galahkari as a people were. He couldn't help the feeling of fascination bubbling within him. Nyx talked about an era the historians knew practically nothing about with an ease and so matter of fact it was astounding.

“I take it doesn't happen often,” he stated despite everything else he wanted to ask. One thing at a time. If he understood his fiancée correctly, he had enough time to ask after the history records later.

A snort was his answer. “Try maybe once or twice since Galahd was founded. It's rare for a Galahkar to show romantic interest in an outsider and it's even rarer for the outsider to reciprocate those feelings. We're nothing but a bunch of faithless heathens, after all.”

There was something about the way he said it that made Cor's hair stand on end, that didn't sit right with him. He suppressed the urge to snarl and marched to the other side of the desk where his phone lay. Beneath Nyx' curious gaze he picked it up and hit the speed dial. It rang once, twice.

“Cor? Is everything alright?” sounded Regis' voice over the speaker.

“Regis, I need a favour,” he said and watched as his fiancée's eyes grew impossibly wide.

“Of course. What do you need?” the King agreed easily.

“Can you and Clarus spare some time later today? There is something I have to do that requires your attendance.”

“My next meeting is in an hour. Cor, what do you need to do that requires both me and Clarus there?” Regis sounded utterly baffled.

“You'll see,” he said, fighting to keep the laughter down. “It's very personal and important to me.”

The sound of rustling cloth and movement could be heard. “Let me fetch Clarus and we can be at your office in half an hour. Or would you prefer one of the private meeting rooms?”

“A private meeting room,” answered Cor after a moment of consideration. “And thank you, your Majesty.”

“It's always a pleasure to help a friend. Room 1-1 should be free for us to use,” the King said, a smile sounding in his voice.

Cor hung up and redirected his attention back towards Nyx, who was still staring at him, one hand braced on the desk.

“His Majesty will see us in half an hour in meeting room 1-1,” Cor stated.

Nyx yelped. “Half an hour?”

“Yes.”

That's all Cor could say as he watched his fiancée bolt for the door. Before he reached it however, he paused and strode back towards him.

“Idiot,” he murmured just loud enough for Cor to hear, fondness lacing his voice, as their foreheads touched for barely a second. Then he was gone.

Your idiot, Cor thought but couldn't bring himself to say. Even to an empty room.

[lucianprincess]

Chapter 28: The signing of the peace treaty

M.E. 756 (May 16th)

Death. Smoke. Darkness. Another nightmare. Another vision. One or the other, it was all the same. Because of this, Aurora woke up with a start in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep.

As her father had asked her the day before, Aurora had returned to her quarters after breakfast, escorted by two Glaives. She would have really preferred it to be Nyx or Pelna. She knew them well, trusted them and would have felt more reassured. But they were assigned to other positions for that particular day and she, unfortunately, had to deal with it.

Now alone in the room, the Princess changed her clothes. She took off her sheath dress and pumps, which were there just to make a good impression if she met the members of the Niflheim delegation, and put on her Kingsglaive's uniform and boots. Prepare to run away. That's what she was about to do. As the minutes passed, her anxiety increased. She would pace up and down, going to the door to listen to the guards, trying to pick up bits of their conversation, then going to the large windows and looking at the crowd gathered at the foot of the Citadel. As she turned her head, her eyes rested on her wedding dress. She approached the mannequin on which it was and slowly passed her fingers over the fabric while whispering to herself.

— In the end, I may never wear you...

Suddenly, an explosion, panic cries outside and then a strong vibration. Surprised, Aurora turned her attention back to the window and saw the Wall, that her father held on to thanks to the Ring of the Lucii, falling. Then a violent headache caught her. She put her hand to her temple, refraining from screaming. A vision. One of the Divine Crystal being stolen. It was like a cry for help, and she couldn't ignore it. As she came to her senses, the door to her room opened in a crash.

— Your Highness, the Citadel is under attack! Come with us! We'll get you to a safe place!

The Glaive that had just spoken to her froze with an expression of horror on his face, lowered his head and put his hand to his abdomen. Then he looked at his bloody hand for a brief moment before collapsing to the ground. Shocked, the Princess looked up at the second Glaive that was standing guard and had just shot down his comrade without the slightest scruples.

— You will kindly follow me, Princess. The Nif will be delighted to welcome you to their home.

Aurora frowned.

— I'd rather die than fall into their hands.

— If you don't give me a choice...

The man rushed to attack her, but the young woman, having acquired excellent reflexes thanks to her many trainings, had no trouble dodging his blow. As he prepared to counterattack, she warped behind him, tripped him to get him down on his knees, and came to put her arms around his neck to suffocate him.

— If there is one thing I can't stand, it's traitors...

He put his hands on her forearm and bent over to tip her forward. But just when he thought he could disable her by knocking out of the way with the knob of his dagger, he opened his eyes, feeling the blade that Aurora had just summoned, which had stuck in his stomach. He slipped to his side, dying, as she straightened up and looked in turn at her bloody dagger and the bodies of the Glaives lying on the floor of her room. She had just killed someone for the first time. But time being limited, she left the room with a last look and headed towards the elevators to go to the Crystal. But as she passed in front of one of the windows, something caught her attention on the outside and made her stop her run. She saw the adamantium cage, which was in the vault, hanging from a Niflheim airship leaving the city. It was too late now. Suddenly, her thoughts turned to her father. Was he safe? Or was he still there? Concerned and uncertain, she turned around and walked down another corridor to the room where the peace treaty was to be signed. But as she was about to turn at a fork, she heard footsteps and voices.

— Get the Princess! The High Commander wants her alive!

Aurora whispered a swear word, clenching her jaws and frowning. With a dagger movement, she used royal magic to make herself invisible just in time to avoid detection. Once the group of men had moved away, the young woman continued on to the Council room.

When she arrived on the spot, she froze for a brief moment. So many corpses lay on the floor. She saw Clarus in the distance, pinned by his own sword, Ravus screaming in pain because of his burning arm, Lunafreya supporting the King of Lucis, visibly wounded, heading towards one of the walls of the room and Nyx facing General Glauca. Aurora threw her dagger to quickly teleport to her father and helped the Oracle to make him walk. Regis turned his head towards his daughter, relieved to see her alive, but worried that she was still here.

— But what are you still doing here? You were supposed to join the Amicitias...

— Some Glaives turned around and I had to improvise.

He briefly squinted as he looked at her and nodded. He opened the door with royal magic, revealing a hidden elevator. All three entered inside it and Nyx teleported just in time before the doors closed.

During the descent, as Lunafreya bandaged his hand with a piece of her dress that she had just ripped, Regis addressed them.

— This leads to a hidden passageway. Follow it. Once you are away, make for Altissia. Noctis awaits you there.

— Your Majesty.

Aurora looked away as Nyx looked at her, realizing that she was in combat gear and visibly ready to flee, then turned his attention back to his King.

— You knew this was coming…

— Yes. But it was the only way to draw their wrath from Noctis.

— Is that the way of our king? Sacrifice Lucian sons to save his own?

— To save the world.

— See Aurora and Luna safely to Altissia. This is not an order from a king to his Glaive. This is a plea from one man to another. Please, Nyx Ulric, keep them safe. For the future of all.

— The future?

The elevator shaft moved and everyone looked up at the ceiling, suspecting that the hidden door was being forced a little higher. Regis turned to his daughter with a serious look and handed her the Ring of the Lucii.

— Here. Take this. It is time it passed to another’s keeping.

Aurora imperceptibly squinted, taking the divine jewel that her father held out to her reluctantly. She didn't like the tone of his voice or even the meaningful look on his face. She remembered their discussion the day before... that some might lose their lives... and understood that he was probably one of them. She looked at him sadly, closed her eyes painfully and nodded in response.

Once the elevator arrived in the basement of the Citadel, they discovered a beautifully decorated room with many inscriptions relating to the Cosmogony and the history of the Lucii lineage as well as the hidden passageway leading to the garages. But as they walked towards the exit, Regis stopped, looking at Aurora and Lunafreya with a touch of sadness. He raised his hand and made a crystalline wall appear so that the three young people could not go back.

—  Dad, no! Don't do that!

—  Please, don't leave us!

Regis took inspiration and addressed Lunafreya.

— I know your mother would wish the same as me. That you and Noctis live happily. All those years captive because I failed you. Not again. Locked doors will seal your fate no longer.

Then he turned his eyes to Aurora.

— Keep looking after your brother like you always have.

He took a look back at the elevator, which was seriously starting to shake, before turning his attention to Nyx.

— Our hope goes with you now, Nyx Ulric. Godspeed.

But as the latter tried to drag the two women to the door behind them, General Glauca eventually joined them by jumping into the elevator shaft. After a brief bow as if to mark the end of their duel, he attacked Regis who pushed him back with a bolt of lightning, throwing him against one of the pillars of the circular room. Far from being weakened, he stood up, struggled and moved slowly towards him. With a gesture, he came to rotate him so that he could look one last time at those he loved before coming to deal the fatal blow to the King of Lucis.

— DAD!

Aurora rushed towards the crystalline wall screaming, hitting it with her fist as tears rose to her eyes. Lunafreya followed her closely, but Nyx tried to make them look away from the murder that was taking place in front of them, powerless. The Lucian Princess was frozen in fear, her eyes unable to leave those of her father. Glauca pushed Regis' body without the slightest care, dropping him to the ground and lying in his own blood. But as the rage rose, the Oracle stopped the young woman from summoning one of her weapons and the Glaive, which was ready to strike the Imperial General.

— No. We must get away from here. It is what your king wanted. It is what your father wanted…

Nyx resigned himself, clenching his jaws and turned around to follow Lunafreya's step towards the exit. But Aurora did not move, her hands still on the crystal wall. She didn't want to abandon her father. She couldn't do it. Noticing that she was not following them, the Glaive turned around taking a deep breath, grabbed the Princess' wrist and dragged her with him by force.

— Get off me!

— No way. I swore to your father to get you out of here alive. I intend to keep my word.

She struggled slightly, her tears of pain mixed with rage rolling on her cheeks, but quickly resigned herself, unable to fight against her friend's strength. She took one last look at her father, before running towards the garage. The latter, located under the foundations of the Citadel, was quite vertiginous in height. One could even see an imposing statue of one of the former Kings of Lucis kneeling. All three got into one of the cars, Nyx behind the wheel, and left the scene at full speed. On the way, he tried to contact the command, but without success. But as they were driving on one of the deserted highways, they were fired upon by a Niflheim airship.

Sitting in the passenger seat in the front of the car, Aurora saw Luche and Tredd on the deck and frowned.

— I'll settle a score with them. I'll meet you later.

The Princess turned around, grabbed the Oracle's hand to give her the Ring of the Lucii. But as she opened the door, Nyx called out to her, holding her by her forearm.

— Your Highness, no! Take the wheel. I'll do it.

— And what are you going to do? Warp you to reach them? May I remind you from whom the Glaives get their magic?

Nyx shook his head while scowling. She had a point. She pulled strongly on her arm to make him let go when suddenly a voice resounded behind the vehicle, that of Petra Fortis, the city's head of security, who came to cover them so that they could continue their run. But a magitek engine jumped from another imperial airship, blocking their way, and led them out of the highway, breaking the safety railing.

After escaping a fatal fall of several meters and taking refuge for a moment in a building to escape their pursuers, Nyx received a call from Captain Drautos in his earpiece asking him to join him in Section D. But some daemons had followed in their footsteps thanks to Lunafreya's hair clip, which was equipped with a transmitter. After getting rid of these creatures, Aurora helped Nyx with a leg injury to get to the meeting point.

Once there, the Glaive asked the two women to remain hidden until he could ensure the safety of the spot. But one shot was heard, then another. The Oracle rushed and the Lucian Princess tried to hold her back. Seeing that their attacker, who was none other than Luche, was approaching them, they tried to escape but quickly found themselves trapped on a dead end. As Aurora was about to summon one of her weapons to attack her former comrade, a new headache seized her, completely preventing her from reacting. Lunafreya tried to jump over the railing and the man took advantage of the Princess' inability to stop her and tackled her against the gate behind her. Thanks to a good command of the language, the young blonde woman played with words and subtly encouraged the traitor to slip the Ring of the Lucii on his finger, which he did. But being far from worthy of its power, it consumed him. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Aurora slowly regained her senses. Visions always tended to come at the worst possible time.

Then tires squealed and the two women rushed to the meeting point where they had left Nyx. General Glauca stood before them, sword in hand, claiming the Ring. In desperation, Lunafreya was about to put on the Ring, but the man on the ground stopped her.

— Plan on giving those kings a piece of your mind, princess? You got a destiny to take care of here, remember? Besides, didn’t anyone tell you? I’m the hero around here.

Aurora opened her eyes wide when she saw Nyx take the Ring of the Lucii from Lunafreya's hands, ready to put it on his finger.

— Nyx, no!

She was going to stop him, knowing full well the price to pay for using the powers of the Old Kings when something caught her attention in her peripheral vision. She looked away and saw Drautos just in time ready to knock down his heavy sword on them. In a defensive reflex, the Lucian Princess interposed herself to protect the Glaive on the ground and the Oracle, putting her hands in front of her and making a protect appear thanks to her royal magic. She blocked his blow, not without difficulty, and stared at him, her features distorted by anger. How could he betray her father after all these years of serving him and fighting for the Lucis...  

— What's the point of resisting, Princess? Your fate will be the same as your father's. You can't do anything against me.

— But I do.

Suddenly a lightning bolt appeared from behind Aurora, hitting the former Captain head-on, throwing him several meters away. She closed her eyes sadly and painfully, understanding very well what it meant.

— But... What have you done...

— What a hero had to do to help you save the world.

Nyx was well aware that he had just exchanged his life so that they could flee the city and that he could not honor the promise made to the late King earlier. Just like Aurora. He laid his hand on the Princess' shoulder, looking her straight in the eyes. By this simple gesture, she understood the message he was trying to convey to her, without saying a word. He passed the torch to her, implicitly asking her to make sure that she took them to Altissia, safe and sound and that he trusted in her to do so.  She lowered her head, sighed, a tear rolling on her cheek, and put her hand on his own, nodding gently. He gave her a little smile when she raised her head and turned to the others present.

— Libertus. Meet Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, or prince's beloved bride-to-be. And she has the future of the world in her hands. Keep her safe, our princess too, get them out of Insomnia.

Nyx gave the Ring of the Lucii to the Oracle, let Libertus keep his dagger while he unhooked a small chain from his belt and gave it to Aurora.

— Take this. My sister gave it to me. It has always brought me luck. You'll give it back to me when we meet again.

She took the present, held it tightly in her hands, knowing full well that this was a farewell and not a goodbye, while he smiled at her brotherly.

— Go ahead now.

Libertus invited the two young women to show in the car and they took the road to the exit of the city while Nyx covered their escape with the help of the Lucii. From her window, Aurora watched the Old Kings fight with a certain fascination when Glauca tried to stop the vehicle while it was moving. But with a sword, Somnus, the Founder of her lineage, came to clear the way and allowed them to reach the gate leading to the Leide area at first light. The Oracle and the Lucian Princess mingled with the crowd of Insomnians who had managed to escape from this hell and headed for Lestallum with the rest of the refugees.

Once outside the walls of Insomnia, Lunafreya and Aurora saw Umbra walking towards them, her notebook between its fangs. The Oracle picked it up, opened it, looking at the message Noctis had left her. At least he was safe. But as she was about to answer him, the Lucian Princess spoke.

— Luna... Please don't tell Noct about me.

The Tenebraen lady bending her head, surprised by such a request.

— Why? It will reassure him, though, to know you were alive.

Aurora looked away at the city from which dark smoke was escaping, frowning imperceptibly, sighing softly.

— I know that... But I know my brother. If he were to find out, he would do everything to find me and risk turning away from his new priorities as King. As my father used to say... A lie is sometimes better than the truth...

[guardianshield]

                                I WAS A ROSE.                                                I WAS AN ANIMAL.                         DON’T LET ME CHANGE.                                                                        DON’T LET ME GO. 

formerly a muse featured on bitterroyalty. clarus amicitia of the final fantasy xv series. ten plus years of roleplaying experience. penned by katie.

[thechocoboos]

Bossy

I’m an angry lil potato today so this was born! Enjoy. Ft. Bossy ass dickwad Ignis and an angry reader

Genre: ??? Slice of life...?

Word Count: 2,047

Pairings: lowkey Ignis/reader if you really squint

Warnings: Swearing. So much swearing.

He was so bossy-always walking around with his back straight and head high, a commanding tone to his rich voice. He told you what to do, when to do it, and sometimes even how to do it, which had always been more insulting to you than he’d realized. Yes, Ignis Scientia was a bossy man, and it absolutely pushed your buttons. You two were meant to be equals - to serve Noctis as his advisers, together. Granted, Ignis had been Noctis’ adviser much longer than you as you had only been hired a year ago, however, that did not mean you were incapable of doing your job.

Part of you reminded yourself that he was a busy man, having to advise the damn prince alongside additional duties, so his commanding nature was necessary for everything to get done. Still, he didn’t have to be such an absolute posh-ass about it. Day after day, you had to live with his dumb requests, his dumb voice, his dumb glasses and it - no, he - was hell.

Ignis wasn’t a bad person by any means, but he definitely had his head stuck up his ass and you were absolutely sick of it. One day, your anger and your frustration caught up to you, leaving room for nothing but negativity to brew in your brain.

His loud, expensive shoes were clicking on down the hall as he listed off instructions for you to follow. “-and you’ll have to stop by to get the Marshal’s list of executive orders as well as follow through on the Shield’s list from last week. I trust you can manage that much in the next hour.”

Your mind halted. Next hour? Tracking down Cor would take a good half hour alone, and trying to get any information from Clarus Amicitia was like pulling teeth (You swore his stubbornness could stop a freight train if he tried). Your annoyance was peaking, and as you turned to rip Ignis a new one, he was already listing your next orders.

“-You’ll have to go speak with the Crownsguard about their atrocious behavior at Mini’s Bar from last night as well as collect their payments for the damages they caused. You would also do well to write down their reports as to what happened-” he paused, his pale green eyes flickering to your face for a moment. “Y/N? Are you listening? This is not the time to be daydreaming-”

You cut him off, voice barely controlled as your blood boiled beneath your skin. “Yeah. Yeah, I fucking heard you.” You said, your own eyes meeting his head on for the first time in your career. “You want me to do all these extra, menial chores, on top of my normal duties rather than have all these fucking responsible-ass adults report to you like they should fucking be able to do for once in their goddamn lives, all while you treat me like an absolute child with your dumbass face and your fucking-” You cut yourself off, face red in anger and voice slowly rising and shaking with repressed emotions.

Ignis’ eyes were surprised, “I beg your pardon-”

You cut him off once again, anger rolling into your voice. “Then fucking beg.” You halted where you stood and faced him with one sharp pencil pointed at his disgustingly well-toned chest. “I was fucking handpicked to be your goddamn equal! An adviser, just like you! Instead, you treat me like a five year old who can’t brush their own fucking teeth!” Your voice had risen to a yell as you jabbed your pencil towards him. “I’m fucking tired of this shit!” You finally finished, throat slightly sore. Glaring at him in his surprised daze, you threw your pencil to the ground and thrust your clipboard into his chest, not waiting for him to catch it as your turned on your heel. “I apologize for my fucking abrupt news, you absolute cactus of a prick, but I’m taking a personal fucking day off.” You snapped, not waiting for his response as you began to stomp down the Citadel hall.

Just to your luck, Prince Noctis was waiting at the end, his own eyebrows risen slightly and his best friend, a hyperactive blond you had seen hopping around, was slack jawed with his blue eyes wide in surprise. Behind them, the Prince’s shield had one perfectly bushy eyebrow raised, his muscled arms crossed as he gave you an appreciative nod.

It wasn’t often you saw Prince Noctis, or his shield, as Ignis never gave you chores that involved them. An embarrassed blush rose to your cheeks; you hadn’t planned on royalty witnessing you bout of anger. You bowed slightly before the Prince, “I apologize for my unprofessional behavior, Your Highness.” Your voice was clipped, a remainder of your anger echoing in its tone. “If you’ll excuse me.” Rather than wait for a response, which Ignis would no doubt reprimand you on (if he didn’t fire you, that is), you brushed passed them with a scowl on your face, a tense anger in your posture, and attitude in your step.

Ignis watched you as you disappeared behind a corner, his green eyes just a millimeter wider than normal and his lips parted in a slight “o”. He was holding the clipboard to his chest, more out of instinct than much else at this point. His eyes shifted as he heard the familiar steps of the other three approaching.

“Well, shit. I never thought they’d have it in ‘em.” Gladio’s rocky voice chuckled.

Ignis cleared his throat, closing his mouth as he adjusted his glasses and shutting his eyes for a millisecond. “That was the most appalling behavior I have ever witnessed from someone of such a high standing.” Ignis stated calmly, swallowing thickly. “There will no doubt be a punishment in order-”

Noctis cut Ignis off, “High standing?” He echoed, voice flat. Ignis glanced at Noctis, surprised at the sarcastic tone to his voice. Noctis continued, “For someone who’s supposedly, ‘High Standing’, you treat them like dirt.”

Ignis felt a twinge of offense. “I disagree-”

“-C’mon, specs.” Noctis crossed his arms. “Like they said, they were handpicked by my dad and about a billion other officials to be my second adviser, but you just give them shit that the lowest of the low could do around here.” If Ignis wasn’t mistaken, there was a note of annoyance in Noctis’ voice. “Hell, I can’t even remember their name half the time ‘cause they never even get to talk to me.”

It was silent for a moment. For the second time that day, Ignis’ eyes were wide and he was speechless.

Prompto piped up, voice a little uncertain as he looked at Noctis and whispered, “... You have a second adviser?”

It was with Prompto’s innocent question that things clicked. Ignis blinked, recalling the same list of chores he had given you that day. Sure enough, each item was a menial task that anyone could have done. In hindsight, Ignis was indeed being an “absolute cactus of a prick” as you had so kindly called him.

“I don’t know what your problem with them is,” Noctis said, catching Ignis’ attention. “But whatever it is, it needs to stop. Let them do their job, dude. I get it if you don’t want a new adviser to mess everything up or whatever it is, but they’re the best of the best. They can handle it.”

Ignis was quiet for a moment. He glanced to Gladio, who gave a grunt of agreement, and to Prompto, who still looked confused. He let out a small sigh, nodding. “I suppose-No, you are right, Your Highness. I do believe I have been rather… unfair to them. I believe an apology is in order.”

Noctis snorted, “Don’t tell that to me.” He replied, rolling his eyes.

Nodding, Ignis went to pull out his phone, only for Gladio to stop him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you think you’re doing?” Gladio asked, raised an eyebrow.

“Calling Y/N, of course-”

“I don’t think so.” Gladio chuckled, remembering that yes, Ignis is a genius, but sometimes he’s an idiot, “They’re taking a personal day off, remember? Let ‘em cool down for a bit.”

Ignis nodded, adjusting his glasses. Of course. They were most likely still angry, afterall, he was rather rude and dismissive of them… Still, as the day progressed, Ignis’ stomach was rolling around in the unfamiliar feeling of guilt. It wasn’t often that he felt guilt, as his decisions were logical and thorough enough to be guilt-free, although in this situation, he knew he was in the wrong.

The following day, you walked into Ignis’ office with a steeled mask over your features despite the clear nervousness in your posture. “Excuse me, sir.” You began, voice wavering slightly. Yes, you strongly disliked him, but that was no excuse for your harsh words. As much as it killed you to do so, you began to apologize. “I… I apologize for my words and actions yesterday.” His eyes glanced up, patiently waiting. You continued, “It was unprofessional an immature of me to behave in such a way-”

Ignis held up a hand, stopping you mid-sentence. “It was.” He stated bluntly, voice as posh as normal. A twinge of frustration bloomed in your gut, only to be stopped short by his next words. “However, you made logical points.” He began, standing up. There was something in his voice, an almost apologetic voice. His next words were strong, his voice sure. “You were handpicked from the finest advisers in the city, by the finest officials we have at the Citadel. You were chosen to stand by Prince Noctis and aid in advising him, just as I was. We were supposed to work together as equals and help him be the best Prince - the best King - that he can be.

“I came between you and your duty.” Ignis admitted, looking at you with guilt in his wonderful eyes. “I treated you as an assistant - even as a maid when we’re meant to be equals and…” He stepped around his desk, standing three feet away from you and looked you in the eye as he spoke, “I can only say I’m sorry.”

It was clear he expected you to say something, but you found yourself speechless. This posh, somewhat arrogant man who treated you like dirt, had apologized to you with nothing but respect. Part of you was still angry at him for wasting your past year as adviser, but another part - a much bigger part - forgave him.

It took you a moment to collect yourself and your words. It seemed with each passing second, Ignis felt more and more dejected about his apology. Finally, you spoke. “Part of me is still a bit annoyed.” You admitted, scratching your arm. “But… I think both of us were assholes, here. I think, as long as you’re willing to let me do my job from now on, that I forgive you, sir. I can only hope that you forgive me for my inappropriate outburst from yesterday.” You found yourself bowing slightly, eyes anchored to the ground.

A hand fell on your shoulder, your head jolting up in surprise. A small smile sat on Ignis’ face, catching you by surprise. “I do believe that bowing to each other will be unnecessary, as will be using terms such as ‘sir’.” He told you, his hand still on your shoulder as you stood up. “From now on, we are equals, Y/N, as we should have been.”

You couldn’t stop your own smile from sliding onto your face or your nervously thumping heart as you heard him say your name with respect.

“Now,” He began, releasing your shoulder and adjusting his glasses, “I do believe I have to fill you in on today’s schedule.” he chuckled, “I’ve left you in the dark for far too long.”

For once, as he spoke, his voice didn’t sound so dumb and his face didn’t look so annoying. In fact, you daresay that he looked handsome. Of course, there was no time to spend admiring him, as you two would be late for an advisement meeting with King Regis and there was plenty of catching up to do on the way.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Fic: Nocturne (16/30) - Ao3 Link

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Pairings: Mostly Gen (variety later to come)

Summary: In which Cor Leonis loses his temper, accidentally acquires a kid, and tries to single-handedly dismantle the Lucian immigration system – and that’s before he and his lawyers find out about this Prophecy business. If the Astrals think Cor’s going to let his kid’s best friend die without a fight, they’ve gotten the wrong cheetah ‘taur.

(a young adult novel set in @kickingshoes’ ‘taur AU)

—————————————————————————————— ——————————————————————————————

Cyrella's driving with the kids today, Luna in the front seat and Noctis and Ignis in the back since neither Gladio nor Prompto were feeling well enough to make the trip. Personally, Cyrella's glad for it: fewer kids means fewer targets to keep watch over, in her mind.

Poor little Ignis, though - he's an old ‘taur in a child's body, that one, and he's been distressed ever since the doctors decided against letting the other two kids come.

Maybe it's just that Gladio's not coming.

Cyrella might not be the romantic that her husband is, or that her son is turning into, but she's not blind to the adorable elementary school crush her son has on Ignis Scientia, or the rather bemusedly oblivious-to-his-own-feelings one that Ignis has back on Gladio.

She hopes that baby Iris will take more after her own no-nonsense sort of approach to romance. Look at her and Clarus, after all: they met in a bar fight, she put him in his place and convinced him to swap to her side of the fight, and then she observed both that their fighting styles were fantastically compatible and that he possessed a very attractive set of shoulders and an equally stunning set of hindquarters, and, with that settled, she decided she'd marry him one day.

Oh, sure, he insisted on mailing her cactus flowers and roses for months with notes about how the combination of prickly spines and beautiful petals reminded him of her, which she found very charming, yes, but the decision was entirely practical.

At least Gladio and Ignis are a little less tooth-rottingly sweet than little Noctis and Prompto, who hold hands everywhere and proclaim at a moment's notice that they're going to get married themselves. Aulea is already entertaining herself by planning the ceremony.

Of course, the second Cyrella gets the children all seated, the stupid car starts making a disturbing clicking noise the second she turns it on.

Annoying, yes, but it doesn't seem to be impeding the engine from turning on, and that's most of what Cyrella cares about.

She starts backing out of the garage, but doesn't get more than a few seconds of driving in before she's interrupted.

"Oh! Hold up! Stop the car!" Luna exclaims. "Turn it off again; I know what's wrong!"

And up and back out of the car she goes, popping open the trunk and fiddling around in there for a moment before she ducks under the car entirely.

"Something you learned from Cindy?" Cyrella asks dryly, resigning herself to an existence surrounded by adorable childhood romances and at least one lesbian love triangle.

At least her life isn't boring.

"Yes," Luna says, emerging from underneath the car. She's a bit greasy now, but luckily she's wearing one of Scientia's old college jumpers over her pretty frock and the stains are not drastic enough for Cyrella to feel like she needs to make her go change. A bit of grease and dirt is good for someone of Luna's age, anyway.

Cyrella does note that Luna keeps exchanging meaningful glances with Ignis instead of blushing and spluttering the way she usually does whenever Cindy is brought up. "I've fixed it as best as I can for now," she says. "The way the engine was going originally, with that sound, the car would've broken down halfway to Hammerhead. As it is, we should make it to Hammerhead, no problem, but after that I'm not sure..."

"I'm sure we can swap out cars there," Cyrella says dismissively. Cid always keeps a few extra cars in the back; she'll take one of those. Cid will agree. Cid usually agrees when she asks him for things, even if he usually mutters something about marrying giants and swords longer than he is tall. Whatever; it's not her fault that he's short. "Say, have you heard from that Galahdian girl, Crowe, recently?"

Ah, there's the spluttering she expected.

Cyrella finally gets the car out of the garage and drives happily onwards, smiling as Ignis and Noctis take up the banner of teasing, and thinks to herself that just maybe, her husband has a point with how amusing these childhood romances are.

Libertus kind of wishes Nyx and Hemera were here.

Don't get him wrong – he's glad to get a chance to do some work outside the shadow of the Hero Twins! He loves them like his own blood, he does, as much as he loves that Crowe kid he's all but adopted and been adopted in turn by her parents, but damn if it don't sometimes get old with them all but cartwheeling into combat and coming out smelling like roses having saved another half-dozen lives or whatnot. Not to mention all the crazy shit they lead him into if he's not watching himself carefully – all good, useful missions in the end, but also generally crazier than coeurl gone cuckoo, by and large.

So he's not necessarily upset about getting a mission of his own, y'know?

It's just – maybe not this mission.

There's the kids, for one thing – Prince Noctis, who's going to save the world, and little Iggy, who saved Libertus' own furry hindquarters and can't stop calling him Li-bear-tus no matter how serious the situation and who's ten times smarter than Libertus is ever gonna be – and Libertus just plain old isn't great with kids. He swears too much, which at least has the benefit of making them laugh even if he's pretty sure Mrs. Amicitia is going to murder him and leave his body in a ditch somewhere if he doesn't stop. He can't help it - he just gets really nervous because he doesn't know how to deal with them. Whenever there are kids, Libertus strongly prefers having people around him who actually know what they're doing.

Which he guesses he has. After all, there’s the Marshal and the Shield and the Shield's wife who probably ought to be called the Sword based on the big-ass greatsword she usually has strapped to her back; they all have kids, so clearly they’ve got to be half-decent at keeping an eye on them. It's not even his job to be watching the kids! It just makes him nervous, having them around; that's all.

There’s the fact that they’re (secretly) on a mission to go find Ramuh and demand that he cooperate in some sort of Covenant which he may or may not be into, and Libertus might not be the most religiously observant guy on Eos but he still feels like that’s a bad idea – and if he didn’t, the storm would’ve made him think twice.

Oh yes.

And then there's the storm.

Now, Libertus is Galahdian, born and bred, so don't get him wrong, he's not afraid of no storm. Compared to the yearly hurricanes he's used to, especially the big ones like old Gordo that hit the year he was born and every ten years since, this endless rain and lightning and thunder is nothing.

Sure, he's never been knee-deep in muck and mud quite like this, with the sky blacked out and no ocean anywhere in sight and daemons capable of coming from all around in every direction, right in the middle of a big giant looming forest that somehow feels so much bigger and older and more menacing than the jungles of Galahd. He's never had to hear the howling of wild creatures coming from every direction, so loud that it's actually competing with the sound of the wind. He's never had to drive down paved streets so slick with water that it's like they're considering becoming rivers because there's no ocean for the water to drain away into.

He's used to seeing lightning coming in from the ocean horizon right before it rolls in and hits you, giving you at least a few seconds warning to go find shelter; he's never willingly gone out right in the center of a storm the way he's doing right now, walking into a bunch of flammable trees like an absolute moron, with the rain coming down so hard it leaves bruises the whole time.

He's also never had to try to mount a goddamn Chocobo that don't want no bear on its back just as much as Libertus don't want to be on it, since apparently they're traveling into the center of the forest by Chocobo whether they like it or not.

He's very firmly in the 'not' camp, himself.

"Do you require assistance, Li-bear-tus?" a very familiar voice asks.

Sure enough, it's little Iggy the egghead, and unlike Libertus, he's sitting just fine on his Chocobo, all curled up and dignified just like in the instruction manuals.

"I'm fine," Libertus grunts, then reconsiders. He likes Iggy plenty; he might be a kid, but he's one smart cookie. "Actually, no. I can't get my balance on this damn bird."

"Well, you're a bear," Iggy says. "You have a good center of balance, unlike some of us – you don't need to try to sit side-saddle. I would suggest trying to settle straight down on the saddle, lying on your belly the way you would for a motorcycle, with your legs hanging down on either side."

Libertus tries it, and sure enough it works a lot better than the elegant sprawl all the cats are doing. "Thanks, kid."

"My pleasure," Iggy says. "You'll be one of the ones helping guard us, right?"

"I'm actually just assigned to be look-out," Libertus explains. "I'm bringing up the back, just off on the right wing –"

"That's fine," Iggy says brightly. "We'll ride over and find you once we get going; that'll be far more interesting than listening to the adults complain about visibility."

"What? No, wait, you don't –"

"Oh, I know we don't have to. We want to. See you later!"

Iggy clicks his hooves and somehow that works to get his Chocobo moving, and Libertus can't figure out the equivalent fast enough to catch up with the kid long enough to explain that they're supposed to be in the center of the pack for their own protection, damnit.

"Oh, Lord of the Storm," Libertus moans, rubbing his eyes. This is a disaster – they're going to come find him right on the edge of the group, and then they'll refuse to leave, and then they're all going to get attacked by daemons, and die, and it'll all be Libertus' fault...he’s gotta do something to stop this. "Hey, Pelna!"

Pelna, a canidaetaur refugee from Niflheim and brand-new Kingsglaive member who somehow manages to be even younger than Nyx and Hemera and twice as cocky, which up until he'd arrived Libertus had thought would be impossible, turns to blink at him. Or maybe he's blinking the rain out of his eyes. Whatever, either way, he's listening.

"Can we swap positions?" Libertus asks urgently. "You're leading the right flank, yeah? Advance position? The storm's got all this muck up, and one look-out post's as good as another, innit?"

"Except for the part where the front lead is expected to see fighting and the back isn't," Pelna points out with a slight grin, but then he shrugs. They've all had plenty of opportunities to get in the thick of it for fighting recently. "Any reason for wanting the swap?"

"Looks like the route's going to take us around the lake – swamp – body of water, whatever – and the only thing worse than wading next to a pond in a storm is being the heaviest guy around wading after everyone's had a chance to rip up the earth with their paws to make it easier for you to sink." This is true, even if Libertus had already mostly resigned himself to it.

He can't tell Pelna that he's trying to get away from some kids because he gets itchy when he has too much responsibility over anyone under the age of reason. That would just be embarrassing.

Pelna sniggers. "Yeah, good point. I don't mind swapping this time, if next time you let me swap with you when I want the better position. Should we clear it with the Captain?"

"Why?" Libertus asks with a shrug. "You know he doesn't care who does what as long as everyone knows where they are and what they're doing at crunch time; that's why we're all trained as all-around fighters. And you know how he's always going on and on about how they don't give us enough Kingsglaive to make allowances for personal comfort..."

"You mean right after he's complained that we don't get treated as good as the mostly Insomnia-born Crownsguard, and right before he starts implying that they think we're expendable and disposable pieces that can be swapped out at will?" Pelna jokes. He's been in the Glaive long enough to be familiar with their Captain's occasional diatribe. "Sure, I know. He usually throws in a few compliments about how flexible and multipurpose we are in there, too – but, you know, he doesn't like it when you swap once something's already started..."

"Would you really consider us to have 'started'?" Libertus asks, looking around him pointedly. Everyone's still struggling with their Chocobos or their clothing or their bags or something. Nobody’s exactly what anyone would call battle-ready.

Pelna laughs again. "Yeah, point. Sure. See you on the other side."

Then he, too, clicks his Chocobo into motion and is off like the wind. Damn, Libertus really needs to figure out how to get his own bird moving like that.

Maybe not exactly like that. A slower version would be much more his speed.

Well, at least he can comfort himself with the knowledge that he's avoided the problem of lagging behind and losing the kitlings.

"How," he says flatly two hours later, two adorable children beaming up at him from atop their Chocobos and under their little ponchos, umbrellas having been rendered useless by the wind. "I'm not even..."

"We checked there first," Iggy says, wincing a little as a giant roll of thunder comes in. "And Pelna said you'd be here, so we came here."

"I don't think you should be this far forward," Libertus protests. "At least at the old position, you were lagging behind, but this is out front – it could be dangerous –"

Thunder rumbles again.

"It's fine," Noctis says soothingly. "We asked the Marshal, and he said sure."

"Does he even know where I'm located – wait. The Marshal is Crownsguard. He doesn't even have authority over my position! That's why Captain Drautos came along, so he could supervise everything personally!"

"Yes, but Cor is the one ultimately in charge of guarding us," Noctis says, clearly unconcerned. "And he said we should go up front."

Another flash of lightning, and more thunder almost immediately. They're near the center of the storm, now.

Libertus frowns. That doesn't sound right - the Marshal is a terrifying figure who is highly unorthodox, but even he's not so unorthodox as to send the kids he's suppose to protect to the front line.

Unless...

"Did he send you to come to visit me?" he asks slowly, something niggling at the back of his mind. The Marshal is as famous for his bursts of intuition as he is for his battle strategy. "Or did he say go to the front?"

"No, he just said 'go to the front'," Iggy says, but he's starting to frown as well, seeing Libertus frown. "Why?"

Thunder again –

No.

Libertus is Galahd-born.

He knows thunder: he was born in the storm. The sound of thunder lulled him to sleep as a kit.

That?

That is not thunder.

That's the sound of a bomb.

"We're under attack!" Libertus roars, his voice barely audible over the heightened storm, but strong enough to make it through to the next few bedraggled-looking Kingsglaive, whose heads rise up in alarm as they turn in the direction he's pointing – back towards the main convoy, an attack from behind where they hadn't been expecting one.

Shit, that's not far from Libertus' old position – Pelna's there! He needs to get there –

No. He needs to protect the kids.

"You need to get away from the fighting," Libertus tells the kids, who suddenly look scared and far, far too young. He leaps off of his Chocobo and lets it run free, then turns to help the kids off of their own before the Chocobos can start panicking and running off with them, though their Chocobos end up standing there placidly and pecking at the nearby trees. Maybe he really did get the nerviest one of the whole bunch like he'd been suspecting. "At least you're in the front, not the back where the fighting's happening –"

They were in the back, though, before. They'd gone over to the back to hang out with Libertus and they only came up here to the front because – oh, thank Leviathan's many-ridged fins that he swapped with Pelna at the last minute, or else the kids would be in the center of the fighting right now.

"Wasn't that where you were supposed to be?" Noctis asks, eyes wide.

Libertus is about to agree, assuming that Noctis is expressing relief that they're not there and Libertus isn't there and therefore relatively safe, as these things go, when Ignis speaks, his eyes equally wide but his face far more despairing.

"Someone knew," he says with horror.

"What?" Libertus asks, attention pulled away from the battle – unwise, he knows – by the tone in Iggy's voice.

"You're the only grown-up here that we'd want to hang out with, other than Gladio's Mom and Dad and Cor and they were being boring," Iggy says woodenly. "You're the obvious choice for us to go spend time with. Someone figured out where you'd be, and knew that we'd probably come to see you. And then they set up the attack so that it'd come to where you were supposed to be..."

"You're being paranoid," Libertus says, but his heart isn't in it. It's certainly possible – if the Niffs figured out a way to spy on them, if there's a traitor - it's not like his friendship-by-proxy with the kitlings isn't pretty well known, a subject for plenty of teasing in the Kingsglaive – it's possible –

Well, it doesn’t matter. Figuring out what happened and how is way above Libertus' paygrade. Right now, his job is straightforward: normally, he’d go into battle to support his friends in the Kingsglaive, but that’s clearly the wrong thing to do now. He needs to stay with Noctis and Iggy. Protecting them is the highest priority –

Libertus sees the shine of metal in the middle of the field shining bright as it reflected the next crack of lightning.

Glauca!

Oh shit.

Shit, shit, shit. General Glauca himself here in person, despite the fact that he knows that Cor is here – that means they must know about them, somehow; that means the Niffs are clearly here to get the kids – and if they do have a spy, then they’ll know the kids are with him, and it won’t take long for them to figure out that he swapped with Pelna – and then –

"They think you'll be next to me," Libertus suddenly says. "That's what you think, Iggy?"

"I'm sure of it," Iggy says.

Iggy's smarter than Libertus will ever be, for all that he's so much younger. Libertus is going to have to trust him on this.

“Okay,” he says, looking at the kids. “They think you’ll be next to me. So I’m going to go west, to the outskirt of the forest, and I’m gonna take your Chocobos –” Thank Ramuh’s feathery ass, they picked ones with distinctive colors. “– so that they think you’re with me and come my way, after me instead of after you, okay?”

They both look at him, wide-eyed.

“That means you’re going to be on your own,” Libertus says. He doesn’t like the idea, leaving kids on their own like this, but if he can keep Glauca distracted and far away from the kids, even for a little bit longer while someone manages to get out a call for back-up from the reserve units that were trailing behind them, it’ll be worth it. Glauca is a monster – he wouldn’t hesitate in attacking children, not for a minute. Their only hope will be to keep ahead of him. “You go into the forest, and go to the ground – or into a tree, whatever – just keep away, okay? Keep away from everyone, except for the Shield or his wife and the Marshal, okay?”

If there's a spy, then those are the only people he knows for sure must be safe; they've been friends with the King for years.

The kids both nod.

They're so brave.

“Good luck,” Libertus says, grabbing the reins of the two kids’ Chocobos – he doesn’t care about his own, but it's come back through the brush and seems inclined to follow him anyway. Whatever, that'll help with the illusion, and the low visibility due to the storm will only make it harder for anyone to know the truth. “See you on the other side.”

And off he goes.

Ignis and Noctis stumble through the dark forest, the storm above their heads, the leaves barely blocking them from the pouring rain.

“We should find somewhere to stop,” Ignis says through chattering teeth. He bundled up well for this trip, but the combination of fear and increasing wetness is not conductive to a nice, warm, happy child. Not to mention the fact that his glasses are covered in raindrops, which he hates. “Noct, do you think…?”

He trails off. Noctis is definitely moving in a particular direction, whereas Ignis was under the impression that they were simply moving away. Ignis hurries to catch up.

“Where are we going?” he asks.

“The right way,” Noctis says, his eyes fixed in the distance. “Can’t you hear him?”

“Who?”

Noctis points.

Ignis looks, squinting.

“Is that - Umbra?” he yelps. Why would one of the Oracle's Messengers be here? He thought they'd remained back in Insomnia. “What – is Luna around?”

“No, she’s back with the others,” Noctis says. “She tried to summon Ramuh for us when the fighting started, but Umbra says that she says there wasn't any need: with the storm, he already knows we’re here. But it’s okay; Umbra knows the way and we should follow him.”

“The way to what?”

“The runestone,” Noctis says.

“And what,” Ignis says, maybe a little testily, “in the name of Ramuh’s pinfeathers are runestones, exactly?!”

Noctis actually stops moving for a second. “Uh,” he says. “I – I’m not actually sure.”

Ignis crosses his arms and scowls at his friend.

"What?" Noctis says defensively. "Umbra's a Messenger. We can listen to him!"

"The fact that someone – even an adult, or a Messenger, or anything – says something, doesn't mean you have to listen to them, Noct!" Ignis exclaims. "You're the Prince! Plenty of people will try to tell you things, and it's up to you to figure out what you think about what they're saying. You're eight already. Hasn't school taught you anything? Look before you leap!"

Noctis looks appropriately abashed. "That's a good point," he says. He reaches out and takes Ignis' hand in his. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Iggy."

Ignis sniffs, somewhat appeased. "Probably be rude to everyone you meet, most likely."

"You and your etiquette," Noctis teases, but then looks after Umbra's waiting form. "I do think we should follow Umbra now, though."

"All right," Ignis says. "I'm wasn’t saying we shouldn't. I just wanted you to think first, that's all."

Noctis smiles. "I've thought about it, I've thought about it. Let's go already." He tugs gently on Ignis' hand.

And so they go deeper into the forest, following Umbra's swiftly receding form. Ignis' hooves sink unpleasantly into the increasingly muddy ground, and Noctis' paws are only a little better for this sort of mucky travelling, but they force themselves to continue even as the trees get bigger and bigger and the storm darker and darker, the flashes of lightning and ensuing thunder more and more constant.

"Aren't storms supposed to move on or something?" Noctis grumbles as they reach a clearing.

Ignis tugs on his hand sharply, his eyes fixed elsewhere.

Noctis looks at him.

"Look around you," Ignis says. "And up."

Noctis looks.

Ignis sees the confusion on his face, and he also sees the moment that Noctis sees them in the trees.

Birds.

Corvids of every sort, ravens and crows and more, crowding every branch, black feathers and beady black eyes fixed right on where Noctis and Ignis are standing.

The Eyes of Ramuh.

The Wings of Ramuh.

"Now," Ignis murmurs, noticing that Umbra has disappeared entirely, "is the time for etiquette."

Noctis gives the slightest hint of a nod, and steps forward. "Greetings," he says to them as formally as he can. "My name is Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prince of Lucis and Chosen of the Prophecy of Bahamut, and I'm looking for the runestone of Ramuh so that I can obtain his blessing and complete a Covenant with him – and the Prophecy may be completed. Would you please show me the way?"

One of the ravens hops out of his tree and flies silently to the ground before them. It lowers its head, wings spread, almost like a bow – both Ignis and Noctis automatically bow back – and then turns and hops off further into the forest.

They follow.

Ignis glances behind them as they go up a hill and sees a flash of silver metal.

Silver metal, moving – General Glauca!

He squeezes Noctis' hand. "We're being followed," he murmurs. "We need to go faster."

Noctis nods and they speed up, the raven leading them moving faster as well. It seems to be moderating its speed to theirs.

Still, they're just kids, with short legs and the tendency to tire quickly, and they end up slowing down again because that's better than running and having to stop to rest. Still, knowing that General Glauca is chasing them is pretty good incentive to keep going.

And then just when Ignis is sure that they'll have to stop and rest, no matter what, they reach another small clearing, this time against a cliff face, and at the end of the clearing there is the weirdest rock Ignis has ever seen.

Ramuh's temples are trees struck by lightning; everyone knows that. This is a rock in the shape of a tree, tendrils reaching upwards, and it's glowing faintly.

"I think this is the runestone," Noctis says. "Carved by lightning strikes."

Ignis nods. He means to let go of Noctis' hand, to let his Prince go ahead alone to his destiny, but Noctis clings on tighter and shoots him a beseeching look, and Ignis just can't let him go by himself.

So they move forward together, clinging to each other.

They're almost at the tree when someone calls out Noctis' name.

They turn, and it's Captain Drautos, still some distance away from them, panting a little like he's been running after them. "Prince Noctis," he repeats. "There you are – I've been looking for you! You have to come with me. The Niflheim forces are too strong, too many. We have no choice but to retreat."

"But if we retreat, we won't have another chance until next year!" Noctis exclaims.

"Your parents would rather wait a year if it means that you'll be alive," Drautos says, and steps forward into the clearing, the silvery spots on his hyena hindquarters shining wetly in the rain. "Come with me, Prince Noctis. I'll see you home safe."

Ignis takes a half-step towards him, but Noctis doesn't, and Ignis looks back at his friend, whose expression has gone set with determination. Ignis takes back the half-step, moving back to stand at Noctis' side.

"Thank you, Captain Drautos," Noctis says, his voice clear and strong. He's made his decision, Ignis can tell; he’s not just blindly listening to what people tell him to do, just like Ignis advised him. Ignis feels a surge of pride: Noctis is going to be a great king, one day. "But I'm going to call on the runestone first."

And he turns and reaches out a hand to the rock-tree, both his hand and the tree glowing, even as Drautos exclaims something rendered inaudible by a sudden crash of thunder.

And then the birds start screeching.

Ignis steps closer to Noctis automatically, his eyes going wide as the birds leap from the trees into the air – dozens of them, hundreds of them, thousands of them – and suddenly the storm-darkened sky is even darker with all of those black-winged bodies, so close together that they're indistinguishable from each other.

It takes a second for Ignis' eyes to adjust scale: it's only when Ramuh – because it is Ramuh, the Fulgarian himself, the 'taur whose body is made of the Stymphalian Birds, all of those birds coming together to metamorphose into a single figure: his mighty torso, swathed with robes, his long beard and sharp black eyes, his gigantic staff – starts to reach his hand down to them that Ignis suddenly sees him there.

The rock-tree has stopped glowing, as has Noctis; Noctis is staring up at the Astral and clinging to Ignis, and that's probably why Ramuh scoops them both up in his surprisingly firm and corporeal fist, lifting them up into the sky.

Ignis, looking down, can see Drautos staring up at them in shock for a long moment before running back towards the fighting, the quickly scattering MTs and a small group of Kingsglaive that were congregating in the area near the clearing, both heading in the direction that Ignis and Noctis had previously been - the two groups aren't fighting, so they must not have seen each other yet in the dark forest - and then Ramuh lifts up his staff with his other hand and throws it like a spear down at the runestone.

It strikes like a bolt of lightning.

The flash is so bright, Ignis has to slap his hands over his eyes, right over his glasses, and by the time it finally fades and he can see again, they're not above the battlefield. They're somewhere totally different. No, that's not quite right, they're still hovering in the sky above a lot of marshy wetlands and dark forests, they're still under the same giant storm as before, so they couldn't have gone too far, but at the same time Ignis doesn't see any of their forces anywhere - no Kingsglaive, no Crownsguard, not even any MTs.

Ramuh puts them down in front of a cave.

"Thank you!" Noctis shouts up at the Astral as he straightens up again, but Ramuh doesn't respond – he just dissolves back into those thousands and thousands of birds that all start flying off in different directions.

"What do we do now?" Ignis asks. "Into the cave?"

"Yeah," Noctis says. "I think – I think there might be something in there that I'm supposed to see."

[rikusqueenofhearts]

My Sweet Lullaby (Final Fantasy XV Parody Fanfiction)

Auther's note: Helo there this is me and I writing this fanfic because I love my Noctis and the boys please omg no bashing or I will have my bf and friend will bet u up. So enjoy this fanfik!

((In case ur taking this seriously, it's actually not a me as this kid writing this. This is actually me Eve writing a parody of how bad some fanfics can be. It's for @artistictranquility in which we make fun of bad fanfics 😂 it's for a con to see if there's any as bad as My Immortal. So... laugh on!! This is basically an anti My Immortal fic as we call it LOL tagging @neighborlyarson IF I HAVE TO READ THIS WORK SO DO YOU))

Hi my name is Melissa Tabitha Song and I have beautiful long rainbow hair with shiny silver eyes and very pale skin. i wear beautiful rainbow outfits and am very short. My parents are both gods but i came out a human girl but my parents left me on earth to have a better life even if I have magical abilities. A lot of people tell me I look beautiful even if I don't feel that way. I notice other girfs look at me glare me bc of my beauty. They kust jelos of me.

Vs Noctis had come from another world too and is like a mirror to Noct. They both r like brothers and often fight a lot. He does t like anyone but me. We had bcome close frienda and there is something mysterous about him. Something that makes me want to know more of him.

Gladuolus Amicitia is another good friend. He is a shield of the other Noct and is often a hot headed. Gladio and I are childhood friends and he was always protective of me. I find myself liking two guys. I can't like two guys! Oh no!

It was one day when Vs Noct and I were all alone when he went to talk to me. We were both walking under the moonlite and walking around. He said he wanted to speak to me. He looked at me and said. "Hey, Melissa. There's something I want to tell ypu."

"What is it you want to tell me?" I asked.

He looked at me in the eyes and said, "I love you!"

"You what...?"

"I love you so much. The first time I had ever laid eyes on you is when I fell in love with you. Do you love me?"

"Of course! I love you too!"

We both made out with each other and had the insides of our mouth make out with each other and took each other's clothes off. I had never been with anyone before. His touch was the best thing ever.

He put this thingy in my hole and we began fucking the daylights out of each other. We went on to fuck as he both shouted "I'm going to cum!!!"

After we spilled ourselves in each other, we heard someone yell, "what the hell are you doing fucking out here!?"

It was... Regis!

---

After we were caught, we were brought to the Citadel with both Regis and Clarus watching us. "What were you thinking fucking outside!?" Regis yelled at us.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "I love vs Noct your son and I want to be with him forever!"

"I love her!" vs Noct declared. "I want to be with her."

"How is my son going to feel since he loved you too?" Clarus asked.

"Gladio loves me?" You couldn't help but ask.

"He talks about you all the time," Clarus said. "And you're fucking the Prince."

"These two do love each other," Regis said. "You can't punish them for being in love."

"I guess," Clarus said. "Shall We let them go?"

"I assume so," Regis said.

----

When we were done, I saw Gladio yelling at Vs Noct as the two men began to fight over me. Both bad boys, fighting over me!? Oh my! Why do they love me so much!?

"Melissa!" Gladio says as he gets down on his knees and takes my hand. "I love you! Why are you with him!?"

"She's mine!" VS Noct shouted as he glared at Gladio. "You don't get to have her!"

"It's obvious that me and Melissa are meant to be together!" Gladio said.

"Omg! Stop fighting!" I shouted as I stomped my feet and threw my arms around. "Stop It! I don't like fighting!!!" I started to cry as I covered my face with my hands.

"Melissa, we're so sorry," Vs Noct said as he gave me a hug to comfort me.

"We're so sorry," Gladio said as he wrapped his arms around me too.

"You both can share me!" I said. "I'll be both of your girlfriends! We can be happy together!"

"If that's what you want, Melissa," Vs Noct had said.

"We can make it work," Gladio said.

I couldn't choose between these two anime looking boys! I loved them both! But all the sudden, the three of us saw 3 MORE Noctises. It was regular Noct and Omen Noct and older Noct! The three of them looked at me and proclaimed their love for me.

"Not you too!" VS Noct shouted.

"But I lov her!" Regular Noct shouted. "I came here to confess to her! We've been separated for so long that I want to be together with her!"

Omen Noct yelled about something, threatening to kill someone if he wasn't going to be with me. Older Noctis confessed his lov and even proposed to ME! ME!!! He gave me a ring to prove his love to me! All of the men began fighting over me again

"You can share me!" I shouted. "I love all of you! Let us all be together and be happy! I'm all yours!"

When we all came into an agreement with this, we noticed someone come over and said, "That's not true! She belongs to me! She's... my wife."

It was... Ardyn Izunia!

"I will never be yours!" I shouted as I backed away. "Stop trying to chase me!"

"But you are mine," Ardyn said. "We are both having magical backstories. I am both the Prince of Lucis and chancellor of Niflheim! I am also immortal! We can both be back together!"

"She doesn't want you!" Noct shouted.

"Lets fight!" Gladio shouted. "Whoever wins gets to have her!"

"Omg I hope you guys win!" I shouted.

After a long and brutal battle, Gladio had ended up dying. I started sobbing my eyes out as he was gone. But the four Noctises had won and defeated Ardyn. Killing him.

"Omg, thank you!" I shouted as I hugged each of the Nocts. "But Gladio lost his life!"

"He died for you," Noct said as he gave me a hug. "He loved you so much. We love you so much. Let's all get married in Gladio's honor!"

"That sounds like a good idea!" Older Noct shouted.

----

I had married all the versions of Noctises and it was the best wedding of my life. But during our wedding, Lunafreya and Stella had both crashed the party. They were evil witches who wanted the four Noctsis for themselves! They came to kill me! Why does everyone hate me!?

My parents had secretly been there, unleashing my godly powers. I rose up to my power and used my power killed Lunafreya and Stella. The evil witches habe been defeated! We all rejoced at this!! The wedding had gone on now that they were dead!

When the day was over, the five of us went to the bedroom, all of them professed their love to me and they all took turns with me. They each took my holes with their thingy and placed it in my you know what. Omg it felt so good!! They each fucked the daylights out of me with each shouting "I'm going to cum!!"

I came all over each of them. They were each very kinky and good at bed. I rode them like crazy and we all had a wild night together. I sucked off their pee pee and licked all over them. They each stuck their tongues on me and made me cum so much. When it was all over, we cuddled against each other and professed their love to me. We would habe a happy life together! I couldn't believe all those Noctises loved me so much!

Auther's note: OMG I hope you enjoyed and all you haters better stop flaming me.

((This made me want to bleach my eyes and slam my head against the concrete. WHY DID YOU MAKE ME DO THIS OLIVES 😂))

[amicitiaas]

[FIC] Promise

Synopsis: Lady Crescentia Amicitia, Shield of the King CXII, formally presents her twin children, Clarus and Felicia, to the Crown Prince Regis.

Characters: Clarus Amicitia, Regis Lucis Caelum

Pairings: pre-Clarus/Regis

Wordcount: 1795

Rating: G

@regclar-week  Day 1: Love vs. Duty AND Youth

Art I made months ago for this

//////////////

“Mother says don’t fuss.”

“I’m not fussing.”

“Yes you are.”

Clarus stared pointedly at his sister’s reflection through the mirror. “No, I’m not.”

“Then why is your hair down?” Felicia’s smirk was infuriating.

He ignored her and looked back at his hair, gathering it again to tie up. Of course her hair was perfect on the first try, even though their haircut was the same; shaved on the sides and back, hair to be in a neat top knot. He is quite certain Mother did it intentionally so they’ll look similar, so people won’t judge them on gender, won’t make presumptions on which of the Lady Shield’s twins will become the Shield to the Prince.

But Felicia is taller than him, stronger, luckier. If the ceremony today was three months earlier, they’d be the same height.

“Clarus, my darling, you are fussing. Let me,” his mother said. He released his hair as she ran her fingers through it to gather it up again. In the reflection, she looked at his sister. “Felicia, dear, your brooch is on the wrong side.”

Felicia huffed in annoyance and adjusted it.

As Clarus allowed his mother to tie his hair, he looked at himself in the mirror. She only ever called them her darlings when she knew they were out of sorts, when she knew he was insecure in his position next to his sister. He had not told her he felt as such, but as the ceremony drew near, he was certain she knew. And at the same time, it was not so rare to see her so tender, but that was the Amicitia Way; the intensity of training was balanced with the warmth of their family. Or so they said.

Clarus was old enough to know that his grandfather had not chosen his mother to be his successor, choosing her cousin instead. This moment, this ceremony, was as important for his mother as it was for him and Felicia. She and the King had done this in secret, in defiance, as he suspected she did now, presenting both of them. Born together, the birthright was theirs, even if only one of them could be Shield.

His Mother smiled at him in the mirror, done with his hair and stood up behind him, gesturing for Felicia to stand next to him as well. “There,” she said, observing the three of them in the glass, “Perfect.”

Clarus did not see the perfection in himself, only in Felicia, and she glanced at him through the mirror, her smile faltering just the slightest; the pity one with a birthright has for their sibling who was unfortunate enough to be born second.

Their mother held their hands to show her support. A simple escort from their estate to the Citadel was all they had, yet the public knew this was an important ceremony for the future of Lucis. The Heir to the throne was born, now the heirs to the blade will secure his reign. But still, nothing was set in stone. The Prince was not King until the Crystal accepted him, and for he and Felicia, this was only First Presentation. There were three oaths to be taken before an Amicitia was confirmed Shield. But the public did not know their traditions, their duties to the crown in full; that today would be only the King, the Prince, their mother, Felicia, and himself. No attendants, advisors, only this generation of Shield and King and the next.

Perhaps the public showed interest in this also because the King and his Shield were unorthodox in their first oaths, as it was today with two heirs being presented. The Lady Shield Crescentia Amicitia, well-loved, her popularity soaring, was continuing her unorthodox reign.

When they reached the crimson steps of the Citadel, she released their hands, and they were to approach the Citadel on their own. Clarus pushed aside the lessons that sprang to his mind about the historical significance of the color under their boots, and focused on the number of steps. There were forty five and he had to make certain he and Felicia, with her longer stride, ascended them at the same time. They paused at the stairs as their mother ascended and then fell to each of her sides; he on her right, Felicia at her left—her wings, for on each of their capes was an embroidered wing in gold thread, just like the ink on her arms.

Now they approached the Prophecy Room, where the ceremony in times past was traditionally held as every King must be considered the True King until it is decided by the Crystal they are not. Lessons had taught him the exceptions had been the throne room— usually reserved for the second and third oaths, the Old Wall, and even Tenebrae, though that was in part due to the urgency of an impending battle centuries ago. The most recent exception, the previous oath of presentation, had been twenty-five years ago in the crypts beneath their feet in the presence of Shields and Kings who had died together.

Clarus looked to his Mother’s face, to discern any hint of that exception, but she looked forward only to the King, to her King, to the prince she had whispered her life to. At the center of the room, King Mors smiled at his Shield, at his friend, through the distance.

And there, at his side, stood the prince.

He was certain his mother introduced them when they were toddlers; there were pictures. There had been state dinners, where they had been carefully placed in each other’s presence, guided by attendants and their parents, but since there were two of them, he and his sister had always been kept at a measured distance to prevent Regis from choosing a favorite. And yet, there were four other occasions, ones he did not mention to his mother, when he had walked through the Citadel gardens to enjoy the flowers or study his lessons, and lingering amongst the petals, a curious expression about his face, was the young prince.

Clarus was always sure to close his books and call him Your Highness, and Regis was always careful to correct him, to whisper across the flowers his name instead, and Clarus would share with him his favorites, pointing out the petals and colors and open his books to read his favorite passages.

Next to his father, the Prince was dressed in shorts, but in his full regalia—the irony not lost on Clarus because it was his name. He was already a king. As they approached closer to stand before them, it crossed his mind that one day he would be their King. His King.

My King, Clarus thought.

Regis’ sharp eyes locked onto him and Clarus nearly froze in the intensity. He could see the King that he would be, the man that would protect the kingdom, the boy that would need protecting, and all he could think about was Regis’ laughter in the gardens, the dark curtain of curls that fell over his grey eyes as they read ancient tomes, their knees touching as they sat on the stone benches.

His mother kneeled; Clarus almost doubled over in pain at his fast correction to genuflect as well, his ribs still sore from the kick Felicia landed during training last week. He heard the low sigh his mother gave at the stutter of his performance.

“My King,” she began, acknowledging him, but the ceremony was meant only for the young fledgling Amicitia and the prince. “Your Highness, Crown Prince Regis of the Lucian Line, I present to you my children, Felicia Minerva and Clarus Aulus, of House Amicitia for your acceptance as Shield.”

Both he and Felicia rose as their name was called.

Regis spoke, the soft voice of an eight year old, but the poise of a prince. “I thank thee, Most Venerable and Adamant Lady Shield. I accept these members of your blood and blade as my shield until the end of our days.”

Clarus shivered; anticipation, dread? Is this the Grip? Was the Raven choosing him? In his vision of the king Regis would become, he saw himself at his side, but the same dread as earlier gripped at his heart. Only one of them would have the honor to be Shield, and Clarus knew in his heart it would be Felicia. She was everything he was and better. He would serve his purpose as the heir, the spare, to the name. If Felicia is the heir in blade, he would be the heir in blood, carrying on the name as she carried the crest—

“—Amicitia,” Regis continued, “Your House has pledged its Blood and Blade to my Line. Do you also pledge your blood and blade to me?”

The words might sound odd to come from a child not four years younger than him, but Clarus had his own response. They were to utter the most solemn vow of oaths, the nectere, the binding. The first circumstance of fealty.

Kneeling once more, he drew a breath the same time as Felicia to synchronize their timing. They had practiced the oath to say it at the same speed, the same pitch, as his voice hasn’t changed yet like everyone says will happen soon.

“Of my blood I commend to thee,” they said together. Clarus thought of the name he was born to, of the duty and burden of his house. His first breath in this world was a battle cry, a herald of the Raven.

“Of my flesh, I lay before thee.” Clarus thought of the training he withstood, of the pain, the conditioning to be the last defense of the king, of the Astrals. As the Crystal was set to drain Regis’ life, he was set to help him endure it.

“Of my heart, I fill only with thee.” Clarus dared a glance up at the Prince, at Regis, at the deep eyes that gazed back, just as fearful of the setting of their destiny, and he thought of the laughter in the garden again, the secret between themselves and the petals. The grip around his heart lessened; even if Felicia became Shield, Clarus committed to be by Regis’ side.

They stood, one arm crossing their chests, fist to shoulder.

Felicia finished confidently, “Prince Regis, mors tua vita mea.” Regis nodded, accepting the pledge.

Clarus felt his heart pounding in his chest, feeling Regis’s eyes fall on him. “My Prince,” he uttered, seeing from his peripheral, the confusion of his intimate title displayed on his sister’s face. In that instant, he belonged to no one else but Regis and somehow, he felt that Regis belonged only to him.  My death, your life.

“Mors tua vita mea.”

[angelic-guardienne]

I'm not sure if you take these kind of requests / headcanon so you can ignore this if you wish. How would Gladio reacting to his Crush knocking on the door, asking to see Iris so that they can get her blessing to ask him out. Bonus points if the chocobos were all together when this happened.

Judging by the stages of drafting this was in, this request is a year old. I apologize for that, but… it’s still in time for Gladio’s birthday. (Lowkey, I’m really glad you haven’t deactivated. This has just been sitting in my drafts so long. Sorry for the wait.)

Happy birthday, Gladio!

Tagging: @themissimmortal @for-lack-of-a-better-world @roses-and-oceans @nemo-ne-impune-lacessit @crazykruemel @ponkita @amicitonia @kerrtrash @tales-of-a-fallen-star @valkyrieofardyn @insomniacapples @kawaiinekorose @honey-your-bee-puns-sting @neo-queen-alinity @singergurl91 @rpglover28

So let’s take a quick moment to set the scene.

You didn’t know it was Gladio’s birthday today. You’re going over to the Amicitia household to speak with Iris about Gladio. Somehow, the details like the extra cars in the driveway and the just-barely-audible music coming from the house don’t tip you off to something being amiss.

Gladio isn’t aware that you’re coming. Gladio wants you to come, but neglected inviting you because he got a little chicken shit. (I know, Gladio getting scared of asking his crush out? Unheard of. But bear with me. Homeboy turns into a fish when it comes to something more than casual flirting with the person he likes.) So yes, Gladio wanted his crush at the party but chickened out. Welp.

The party is small, really only the bros, like two other friends from training, and his family. Everyone seems to be enjoying the pets more than the festivities, but Gladio is cool with it because his pets are better than the festivities anyways.

Iris set this up, by the way. She knows you two like each other. She’s practically bursting at the edges with anticipation. She’s been answering the door the whole night, waiting for you to show up.

Of course, when you actually show up, she’s occupied in the kitchen, helping Clarus with the cake.

Who else is there to open the door but the man of the hour himself?

So yeah. You’re kinda caught off guard. Luckily for you, you were planning on asking Gladio out right after you got Iris’ blessing (since you were already relatively ready for it, and you figured her response would bolster you even more) so you already have a gift! It’s just a small box of chocolates and a bookmark of pressed flowers (Iris and Gladiolus to be specific) but it’s still something!

When Gladiolus Amicitia opens the door and he’s covered in confetti and he’s got the most ridiculous party hat on and his shirt is just a little too small (meaning it clings to his muscles, dammit), you’re a bit shell-shocked to say that least. Still, you can take in the environment behind him and deduce that it is, in fact, his birthday today.

What are the chances?

He’s floundering mentally and so are you, but you recover from the awkward silence a little bit faster than he does and offer him a feeble “Happy birthday.” He accepts the sentiment just as feebly. He invites you in, and you quietly ask after Iris. He tells you she’s in the kitchen. You nod and shake his hand (shake his freakin hand!) and scuttle off.

You try to ignore the rest of the guests in the house as they watch you run by.

Luckily for you again, there’s both a door and a wall separating the kitchen from the living room. Only Iris and Clarus are there to bear witness to your quiet mental breakdown.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was his birthday today, of all days?” you hiss at Iris. She fakes a pout in return, shrugging and telling you that it just slipped her mind.

Clarus cuts that short with his own interjection -- Iris was the one who planned the birthday party. She’s been getting things set up for the past two months. There’s no possible way it could have slipped her mind.

“Okay,” Iris admits, genuinely pouting at her father, “You got me. I did that on purpose. But! You’ve got to ask him today, it’ll be the best present ever. He’s gonna love it.”

“But how do you know?” You whine, clutching that little gift close to you. The chance that he’ll refuse you weighs heavily on your heart… though the way Iris sighs in exasperation has you thinking twice.

Apparently it’s obvious that the two of you like each other -- clearly it’s not obvious to the involved parties. Clarus shrugs sheepishly, disclosing that he could see it too. You slap a hand against your forehead, catching yourself against the kitchen table. So… wow. You’re both just blind as bats. Okay.

Anxiety is anxiety, though, so you can’t just ask Gladio out in the middle of the living room.

You call him to some side room, albeit a bit awkwardly, and the atmosphere is so thick you swear his jawline could cut through it -- wait, you didn’t mean that -- awww.

(What y’all don’t know is that all the festivities outside of that little side room have halted as everyone holds their breath in anticipation of what’s to come.)

Well, anyways. After a little bit -- and by that I mean a lotta bit -- of floundering, you offer your little gift and you ask Gladio out. He accepts the gift, but just holds it -- he’s slack-jawed and silent long enough to make you even more nervous.

But then the biggest grin spreads across his face. With gift still in hand, he wraps you up in a bear hug and twirls you around. You’re surprised, of course, but his happiness is infectious and you’re laughing too, soon. When he sets you down he presses the sweetest kiss upon your lips, and you feel like you’re in heaven.

And then he says that you guys should announce it.

“Gladio, no, w-wait--”

“(Y/N) and I are dating!” He yells into the living room, a gigantic grin on his face and your hand in his.

Ignis and Noctis high-five each other as everyone else digs into their wallets and hands over some grand amount of gil to the two victors over there. You and Gladio look on in confusion as Ignis explains. There was a bet they all had about who would ask who first; only Noctis and Ignis thought that you would ask first, and everyone else had sided with Gladio.

You cover your face in embarrassment and Gladio just lets out a hearty laugh, hugging you and twirling you around again. (Get used to that, by the way, he’s going to do it a lot.)

You’re saved from further response by Clarus and Iris bringing out the cake and everyone singing “Happy birthday” to Gladio. He lets you blow out the candles, because “I’ve already gotten what I would’ve wished for.” (jfc gladio, you goddamn marshmallow)

The rest of the night goes on with little fanfare, though Gladio does seem to make it a point to try and get you as flustered as possible by constantly pressing surprise kisses to your cheeks and forehead. (Get him back by doing the same.)

Your first date is scheduled for the coming Saturday, and you guys are gonna take a walk in the park and get some ice cream and whatnot.

Congratulations. You’re now dating Gladio. And what does that entail, you may ask? You can find that information right here. (shameless self-promotion, I know.)

[gladiolus-mamacitia]

(FFXV) Creature of the Night; Chapter 2.

Gladiolus Amicitia x F!Reader

| Kidnapping | Blood Warning | Mild Body Horror | 2,565 Words |

This is the story of Gladiolus and the secret he has hidden from you all these years. Your normal life is behind you, compromising your safety. 

Tagging: @roses-and-oceans @atarostarling @sonsoflucis @demidemon09 @major-artery @mistressoli @itshaejinju @mandakatt @hypaalicious

Music: In The Woods Somewhere - Hozier 

Gladiolus told you everything about his condition. You took the liberty of doing research of your own as well, as you wanted to be prepared for anything. Gladiolus was your partner, the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, so you were willing to go the extra mile to adjust now that he promised not to hide anything from you. You knew that his senses were heightened; his vision during the night being impeccable, hearing so sensitive he could hear the drop of a pin, and being able to smell you from a mile away- which he often joked about in the past.

He healed rather quickly, too. You remember he had nicked himself on accident with the pocket knife he sometimes carried, and by the time you had gone to retrieve the first aid kit and came back, it was as if the skin had never been broken. Gladiolus was strong, thanks to years of vigorous training, but you never knew the exact extent until now. You had watched him and the others spar on various accounts, so seeing him launch Noctis and Prompto across the room simultaneously was unsurprising. But to witness him lift the Regalia without breaking a sweat when the tire went flat? This was ridiculous.

There was no known cure for lycanthropy, as his ancestors had discovered when the curse was first introduced to their family, but there was a weakness: pure silver. It burned his flesh whenever he came in contact with it, which explained that one silver knife that had gone missing some months ago. Gladio revealed that he had secretly tucked it under the mattress on your side of the bed, wanting you to have a fighting chance should he turn in front of you and he was unable to control himself.

You learned that lycans trypically transformed completely on two occasions: under a full moon and during self defense. The transformation from human to wolf was painful and the species would lose all sense of rationality, being driven by either bloodlust or rage.

When you asked why Gladio would disappear for days every couple of months, his face went red. Your own cheeks heated up when he told you that when a werewolf reached maturity, they would undergo something called a “heat”. Going into heat was a time where something biological inside drove them into a sexual frenzy with only one goal: to breed. He, however, would lock himself away, preferring to suffer than to get some unwilling – or willing- girl pregnant. It was also against his family’s code to spend heats with those they were not mates with, their concept of “mates” being the equivalent of asking for your hand in marriage.

You loved him dearly, and he loved you just as equally, but both of you knew that now wasn’t the right time to tie the knot and make it official.

When it was time for the next full moon, Gladio insisted that you kept as far away as possible, but you refused.

“Baby, please,” he quietly pleaded.

“You swore not to hide anything from me, so let me see you as you are.”

You watched anxiously through the high window of the chamber that your beloved man was contained in as he turned from human to beast. Althought a werewolf of his maturity could turn without going berserk, Gladio was not like his father and sister. It was during these times that his lycan instincts overtook him, becoming unpredictable. Much to your surprise, Ignis showed up that night. That was when you learned that him and Prompto had known about this for the longest time. As for Noct, well, he was made aware of the Amicitia Gene at a young age.

A couple of months passed and then his heat neared. You were determined to put an end to his suffering, firmly grabbing hold of his arm before he could walk out your front door.

“Gladiolus, you know that I love you more than anything. So please, stop doing this. Stop putting yourself through this torture,” you pleaded.

“Y/N, I can’t. Dad’s said-”

You gave his arm a sharp tug, pulling him closer and leaning up to brush your lips against his and smirking at the slight quiver they had. “Your dad doesn’t have to know,” you purred.

How could he turn down that sensual vice of yours?

Neither of you left the apartment for a few days, the shield brushing off every noise complaint that came to your door and having his way with you. From how intense it was, it was a miracle that you didn’t end up pregnant, thank the Astrals. You did end up with numerous scratches and wobbly legs, though. The days that followed after his heat passed were probably your favorite. Gladio would become this clingy and cuddly teddy bear, always nuzzling against your or holding you close.

“Gladdy, what are you doing?”

He shrugged, burying his nose into your hair and wrapping his arms around your waist. “I need you to smell like me.”

“What? Why?”

“So that other guys know you’re mine.”

“I doubt they’ll be able to smell it,” you giggled.”

He gave you a smug smile, “Can’t be too careful.”  

You now reached a point where you were now accustomed and comfortable with his condition, having even made the breakthrough of being able to be around him when he was in his full lycan form without him harming you. With you there to put him at ease, he no longer had to spend every full moon in containment. Having put your trust in one another without inhibition, it truly strengthed your relationship. His family had already loved you, but when they learned of how committed and devoted you were regardless of what he was, Clarus gave you his blessing: although human, you were welcomed as officially a part of their pack.

A year had gone by and all was well.

But no one knew of the storm on the horizon.

After work, you decided to pick up some groceries before you finally made your way back to your apartment. Gladiolus would be coming home in an hour, so it gave you just enough time to start the dish and for him to arrive before it was hot and ready. You were halfway through sorting your purchases when you suddenly felt a presence behind you. A rag was pressed tightly over your mouth and nose before you had the opportunity to turn around, another arm wrapping around you to hold down your arms and prevent you from thrashing. You screamed against the fabric, a sweet scent fillings your lungs with every labored breath and making your body grow weak. Vision beginning to fade and muscles failing, your body eventually went slack against your attacker and you lost your grip on consciousness.

When Gladio came home, he knew something was off. Your belongings were here and the door was unlocked, but you were by no means in the apartment. He pulled out his phone and called you, only to hear your ringer coming from under the table where he found your phone. Something inside him screamed that you were in danger, and he believed it. Gladio’s breaths came out labored as a million emotions swelled in him. He stormed out of the apartment, finding it harder and harder to hold back the wolf within.

When you finally came to, your head was throbbing and your ears were ringing. The room that you awoke in was dimly lit, only granting you a few feet of vision and detecting some movement in the darkness.

You were tied to a post, tight ropes binding your wrists and knees to the pole that kept you upright and standing. With your mind still clouded from the drugs, your efforts to wiggle out of the restraints were futile. Footsteps echoed around you, panic mixing with your sluggish senses. You looked around, your vision swaying a bit with every quick turn of your head.

“Who’s there?!” you cried out, “Show yourself!”

Your captor stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to you at last. You didn’t recognize this man, but from what you could gather from the way he was dressed, he must have been a part of the hunter’s guild.

“ ’Bout time you woke up, girly.”

“Wh-What is all of this…?” You squirmed in your bindings, the haze finally lifting and all alarms were blairing in your head.

“You’re gonna talk,” he spoke in a rough voice,” and if you refuse to talk, you’re gonna scream.”

He circled you, fondling something between his fingers. You stayed silent, glaring daggers at the hunter. He must have been a spy of some sort, trying to jostle some information on the prince from you.

“I’m not telling you anything,” you hissed.

He smirked, stopping somewhere behind you. “I know you won’t. Not willingly, at least.”

Intense pain suddenly blossomed in your side as he swung a fist against your torso, making you let out a cry of pain. The man came around to your front and threw another punch, this time into your abdomen and knocking the wind out of you.

“Where’s you werewolf boyfriend?”

He knew about Gladio? That was what he wanted? Your brows furrowed in confusion as you gasped for air. Your chest heaved as you finally caught your breath, stars lingering in your vision.

“I-I don’t know what you’re t-talking about,” you lied.

“About a year ago,” he slapped you across the cheek, making you scream,“ I saw you riding on the back of a giant wolf in the middle of the god damn street.”

“F-Fucking hell…. Th-That wasn’t me!”

He chuckled to himself, slapping you again. “I kept an eye on you all this time. The wolf had a scar over his eye like the one your boyfriend just so happens to have. So I know I’m right. And the real kicker? He’s the prince’s bodyguard, imagine my luck!”

You shook your head as the sting numbed your face, desperately holding on to the charade. “What the hell are you t-talking about?!”

The man gave another punch to your side, this time higher and cracking something. A shriek of pain was ripped from your throat at the sensation, every slight movement feeling like a thousand needles being pushed into your flesh.

“Now,” he continued,“ I’m going to ask you one more time before I switch to Plan B. Where is the lycan?”

“….. G-Go screw yourself,” you hissed through gritted teeth.

The man sighed and shrugged, rubbing his knuckles before they suddenly came in contact with your jaw at full force. The taste of iron filled your mouth, your head spinning with the sting and ache of the impact.

His attacks were relentless, demanding over and over the location of Gladiolus, but you never succumbed. No matter how much agony you were in, you needed to protect him at any cost.

You were now sprawled across the floor in your own blood, restraints gone and lungs struggling to fill themselves with air. Your vision had blurred together and there was no more strength left in your body. The man gripped your hair and lifted your head up as he looked down at you.

“Stay awake, now. We’re still waiting on your man.”

“I-I’ll…. never t-tell you where he is,” you said in a broken whisper.

He laughed as he released you and gave you a kick, making you groan in pain and clutch weakly at your stomach. “You don’t have to. Lycans are very protective of their partners, so he’ll be here at any moment. I just had to give him a little incentive to show his true colors. He’s a monster.”

“N-No… he’s n-not..”

“Yes, he is. Just wait till he gets here.”

Your vision had cleared just enough to watch him draw his gun and load the object he had been handling earlier into the ammo clip: silver bulltes. Your body cried out in protest as you struggled to pull yourself upright, but you had lost so much blood that your arms immediately gave out. If Gladio were to really show up, there was no way he’d walk away from this unscathed. And your grip on reality was slipping through your fingers, meaning you’d be unable to help him. Fear spiked in you at the sound of creaking iron and strange howls from beyond the walls.

You prayed that whatever it was, it was deliverance.

The door to the room suddenly burst open, making you flinch but unable to scream. The single dim bulb that hung above exploded, shrouding the room in total darkness. Several gunshots rang, but from the sound of it, not meeting their mark.

“Wait… no, you’re not-”

Your captor’s startled voice was cut off by the sound of blades slicing through flesh and something slumping to the floor with a wet slap. Everything was silent for a moment until footsteps suddenly approached you. Two leather clad fingers pressed against your neck, searching for a pulse. Gladio hadn’t been the one to find you, but it was too dark to distinguish exactly who this person was.

“W-Who…?”

The stranger cursed under his breath, gathering you into his arms and brushing your blood matted hair from your face. Your already strained breaths stuttered as you recognized the voice of your savior.

“Please forgive me,” he begged.

The next thing you knew there was a finger being jammed in your mouth, willing you to keep it open. A gasp left you as you tasted fresh blood on your tongue and lips, but it wasn’t your own. You tried to shut your mouth, but he held it open with his thumb holding down your bottom teeth. Everything started to spin and your insides suddenly felt like they were being twisted and stretched. The sound of your pounding heartbeat filled your ears as something inside you started to change, your vision going from black to white to red and black again. You were carefully lowered onto the floor once more, your body breaking into full-on tremors.

It was all so overwhelming, eyes wide open with a scream begging to ring out as your muscles sporadically tensed, relaxed, and tensed again. Soon enough it became an all-numbing sensation, you body having gone into shock. There was only one thing that you felt at the end of it, and it was the need sate your desperate thirst. Once your body ceased its convulsions, he sat you up and held his wrist to your lips.

“Drink. Now.”

“N-No,” you whimpered with the turn of your head.

He forced your mouth open again, pressing his still bleeding wrist to your lips. The first time he bled into you, it was repulsing and the effect was the definition of torture, but the moment his blood met with your tongue a second time…

It was like a healing elixir, the sweetest of honeys that sent shocks of pleasure through your body and quenched you. With a new awakened hunger, you gripped his arm and drank hungrily until satisfied. After what seemed like minutes later, you finally detached from him. Your head spun and your nerves tingled pleasantly. Amidst your drunken haze, you leaned away as your canines started to sting.

“I-Ignis…. what did you do to me?”

[ff15trashgoldenslumbers]

Good day! Love your blog really much, your Final Fantasy stuff makes me so happy! Can I ask you to make short story (Fem!Reader X Noctis) about soulmates who have shared dreams each night, can communicate, but can't see each other. Noctis hasn't told that he is a Prince. And one day they meet, understanding that they know each other. Sorry, if i distracted you. Thank you for your stories! 💖 (Sorry my English too)

Hi Sweetheart, please never apologize for your English! I actually sat and thought of this for a good while on how to do it justice and I know you asked for a short one, but my muse grabbed my hand and it ran! Full force! 9K words

~~~~~~

It had been happening for a long time now. Really long, since he was a kid. Prince Noctis was often times referenced by his friends as the Sleepy Time Prince as he would be out like a light in a matter of moments and could rest an almost any situation.

Many did not know that it was due to the fact that when the Prince slept and dream he was actually visiting a friend. A friend he never got to see, but he felt so close to them. He always assumed it was a girl, at least from the voice.

He had many dreams sitting being this person, who often chased away nightmares when they became too intense. When nights came where he’d dream and the soft comforting voice was not there to greet him it would often set the Prince in a foul mood in the waking world.

In all honesty, Noctis thought nothing of this voice in his dreams, after all, he had a little fox often texting him there. Plus the Lucian line had a habit of strange magic, really strange magic. He just figured that he was dreaming of someone that never truly existed but his mind made up to take the focus of all that his waking self-had to deal with. Or something other like that.

Still, why did he often long to hear that voice time and again?

“You haven’t been here lately.” He called trying to keep the loneliness from his voice, tonight’s dream had the Lucian heir in an arcade, your own game blocking you from his vision. He had never seen you, simply heard your voice as it grew alongside himself.

“Yes, been a little stress and when stressed I sleep too little.”

“Anything I can help with?” Noctis inquired, the character in his game looked an awful lot like Prompto.

“Not really, Father had the servants place a sleeping aid in my evening tea.”

Noctis did not like “Father” he was often the reason that you would disappear during the night and Noctis would have to find moments throughout the day to try and catch you.

“If you want,” Noctis begun, trying to find the right words. He wanted to peek around the arcade machine to see you, but that often led him nowhere. “You can tell me what’s wrong.”

He heard the soft giggle, it sounds beautiful.

“You’re so sweet, but even you can not assist me, I’m sorry.”

Always so proper, but Noctis heard the caring person underneath, “Maybe it will help get it off your mind.”

He waited, hearing the soft hums of someone trying to convince themselves before the beautiful voice return a little soft as if holding back tears, “I will be having my Coming of Season soon.”

“Coming of Season?” Noctis had heard it once from Lunafreya, something women did when they became of age but that it was super old fashion or something. Like a celebration of sorts, so why was that beautiful voice so sad about it. “Is it bad?”

A sigh, “My Father wishes to see me off to suitor, I’ll be traveling my first time away from home. I’m frightened of the outcome and what will happen of me. I don’t believe we’ll be hearing each other for a while unless I catch rest during the day.”

Noctis huffed, “I’m sorry.”

A sniffle, before a giggle, “It is not your fault. I am lucky to have you.”

Noctis smiled softly, “Yeah, me too.”

He did not wish for this dream to end on a bad note, should it be the last you shared for a while. So instead he distracted with stories and hope that awake or right before bed they would bring comfort and the voice would visit him again in this dream.

*

You didn’t want to press against the windows, it was unbecoming for a young lady of breeding. The fourth child to your throne, your father did not like for you to be far from his side. It wasn’t due to some type of affection, never that, you were the result of a man with no honor who betrayed his wife’s trust with a “Witch”, resulting in you being a weapon he could use should he need it.

“We are here King Deformis, Princess, oh Y/N.”

“Thank you.” You called, you didn’t have the title like your other family, simply because you were indeed of different blood than them. You stepped from your car, looking to the huge towering building before you, even before you got within city limits you had felt the magic rolling over you, it had a soft tone underneath all that power.

“You daft girl, do not just stand there, hurry along!”

“Yes, Father.” You called, rushing after the man. It was your first time out of your own castle back home, it would have been nice to be allowed to look around the outside world.

You moved up the large staircase, following five steppes behind your Father as you were trained, head down, hands before you.

“You are lucky that you are even getting this.” Your Father hissed, words echoed by “Mother”, your Step Mother, a woman who wouldn’t even look to you. “His Royal Highness King Regis has offered to take you in for the time being, until the end of the season, should you be lucky perhaps one of the elder men, the King’s shield or even a stable boy will take your hand.”

The words no longer stung, “Yes Father.” You replied, trained properly, but no amount of perfection was perfect for “Mother and Father”.

As you moved to the top of the stairs you were greeted by a man with sharp blue eyes, and two young men, that appeared of Galahd, if the braids within the hair meant anything. Still, you had never met anyone from there, only read about them in stories.

“King Deformis, I am Cor Leonis, this is Nyx Ulric and Libertus Ostium. We take it your travel was fine?” The elder man inquired.

Your Father, ever the opportunist to those that held power, was nearly throwing himself at the one name Immortal, he was known through all of Eos. “Yes of course.”

The men turned to you, their new charge, “Princess.”

Your Father turned harsh eyes to the men that called you as such and bowed to you, “She has not yet earned her title, nor are we certain she shall.”

You noticed the looks of confusion on the men, so you bowed, “It is a pleasure, thank you so very much for receiving me.”

You followed the men through the large hallways, in awe at the beautiful artwork and busts of those ancient kings that once ruled.

“The King will be receiving you shortly, do wait here,” Cor called opening the door to a receiving room.

You moved toward the window, in awe at the beautiful gardens and fountains within their courtyard. It was so different than at home, this place looked so free and inviting and warm. You gasped feeling a sharp prick in your arm, quickly followed by another as you tried to get away.

“Please stop.”

“Dumb girl, you should be happy that you are even allowed to be here. Most creatures born from harlots are lucky to even spread their legs for even the lowliest of soldiers.”

You shrieked again, feeling the dig of his fingers again in your skin. He was one to talk, this man was nothing, your Mother, your true Mother was the real blessing. You made to pull away but it would only result in getting struck if you were lucky.

“Heal those.”

You rose your hand, resting it upon the eight pinch marks that covered your skin. Now only pinch marks before company, when you were younger they were much worse.

You spared a glance back to the beautiful garden and window before hearing a knock as the maid came in with refreshments.

You hardly got through a cup of tea before a man with greying hair and sharp eyes appeared at the door. You recognized him as Lord Amicitia, the King’s shield. He walked you and Father to the throne room, where you followed head down, hands folded, five steps behind.

*

It wasn’t that Noctis didn’t care, it was just that he really, really didn’t care. A guest was to be staying at the Citadel and he just had to be there as it was commonplace. So Ignis stuffed him in this stupid suit, attempted to control his spikes, and set him on his way.

Blue eyes scanned the throne room, as he sat atop of his smaller throne beside his Father, from Spring until the end of Summer Noctis would be trapped here most nights with party after party, he really didn’t see the appeal of it. Yet that could have been the introvert in him.

He watched as Clarus entered, followed by a rather round man who looked to trying to hide the fact he was balding. Behind him a young woman, her head down hiding her face. Even when introduced her head held low, as she bowed to the correct height, every move was perfection.

“I am relieved to see you have had safe travels.” King Regis replied a wave of his hand.

The round man bowed deeply, “It is but an honor to stand before you, King Regis, Prince Noctis. An even greater honor that you would take Y/N in for the season, as we, unfortunately, can not host. My wife was so upset that she could not host Y/N of her Coming of Season or come along.”

“Do have a seat, Deformis,” Regis called, as his title rang supreme here, he didn’t have to give title to such a small man with a rule under less than 500. “Princess, please.”

Noctis watched as the young woman moved to sit in the chair provided for her, only to see the old man glare, so she moved to sit on the floor. Strange.

As the two elders spoke, Noctis glanced toward Ignis who was also in confusion at the Princess currently kneeling to the ground and refusing to look to anyone. Perhaps she was shy?

As the meeting dragged on, with more than enough brown-nosing from Deformis the meeting came to a close.

“Princess?”

The only reaction that you were awake was due to the slight head raise, and motion of hands.

“We formally welcome you to Insomnia, we do hope it is to your liking.” King Regis called.

You finally rose your head, a smile on your lips, “Thank you, Your High…”

Noctis’s eyes went wide as he saw the person before him for the first time.

*

King Regis honestly had no idea just how much this was a blessing, you would not have to deal with your horrid family for one entire summer. Maybe if you played your cards rights you could disappear into the night, never to see your family again. So you rosed your head, having dozed off in the meeting, a huge smile on your face, of enteral gratefulness.

“Thank you, Your High…” You stopped, moving to stand.

There beside the King was the one you had dream with time and time again. Prince Noctis was the one to visit you time and again. The voice that grew alongside you, you hadn’t heard him speak yet, but you knew!

“Child.”

You flinched at the hiss, it normally came with a swift hit of a scepter to your back, one of the hardest places for you to heal on yourself. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Regis nodded, before turning to the man with glasses, “Y/N this is Ignis Scientia, Ignis please, help Y/N become accustomed to the castle.”

You moved to stand, only to feel your Father under false kindness pull you to your feet and drag you close to him in a hug. Something he had never done.

“The only way you’ll catch anyone here is to lay on your back. Try with this one.”

You moved to pull away, only to flinch at the sharp nails in your back. You truly despised this man. “You’re making a spectacle.” You felt the man move to strike, but he would never do that before true royalty so he instead released you. “Goodbye, Father.”

“Princess.” The one name Ignis called, holding out his hand.

“Thank you.” You cooed to the man, taking his gloved hand. Such a sweet man to lead you away from this horrid creature you called father. You waited until the man moved you into the hallway, before becoming daring. “Excuse me, Mr. Scientia?”

“Yes, Princess.”

You smiled, “Please no need for that, Y/N is fine enough. Not truly royalty.”

The man only stuttered with a blink, before regaining composure, “Yes?”

“Would it be fine, if I had a word with Prince Noctis. I wish to thank him properly. I know the King is busy and wish not to disturb him.” You offered.

Ignis sat you in a different receiving room, as you waited nervously. What if you were wrong? What if Prince Noctis wasn’t the person you dreamed with, that friend you had in a world separate from this one. You were the daughter of a “Witch” it wouldn’t go without saying that you were kind of strange.

You glanced towards the door, hearing someone.

“She didn’t want to say goodbye to her, Dad?” The voice was unfamiliar.

“I believe it would be easier this way,” Ignis stated, he had no idea how right he was.

You stood, hearing a knock at the door, and then Ignis push open the door, followed by Prince Noctis walking in. Now that he was closer, you saw just how handsome he was, how beautiful his eyes sparkled blue. You watched as the door closed behind him, no doubt that Ignis was waiting there.

*

Noctis stood nervously has he heard Ignis shut the door behind him, shutting him in the room with yourself. He never cared too much for the attention of others, but you were beautiful, your hair framed your face perfectly, your smile was amazing.

But maybe he was just being hopeful, that voice in his dreams was just that. No matter how much your voice mimicked the one that spoke so sweetly to him in his dreams.

“Prince Noctis.” You bowed suddenly, holding out that beautiful dress that shape your body so perfectly. “Thank you for allowing me to visit your home.”

“No, that’s no problem, you can call me Noctis.”

You smiled, “Noctis, if I had known the one in my dreams was a not so far I would have come sooner.”

“Dreams, you mean?”

He watched that smile appear brighter, as you stepped towards him then another as you wrapped your arms around him hugging him tightly.

“I had no idea that it would be this wonderful to finally meet you, in person. Outside our dreams, this is wonderful.” You cooed, only to suddenly remember that this was in fact the first time you met, as you released him stepping back. “I am happy to learn that it was not just, that you were not just that, a dream.”

Noctis smiled, as he reached out, this might have been the first time that you both met outside of dreams, but you were still one of his dearest friends. Besides, the hug felt nice, so he pulled you into another one.

“Me too.”

The two of you stayed within an embrace, only to split as you heard a knock and then the door open.

“Your Highness.”

*

As much as you hated the hug to end so suddenly you were drawn to those that entered the room. Having already met Ignis, you turned to the tall man, Lord Gladiolus Amicitia.

“Princess, we wanted to let you know that if you require our assistance we will not hesitate to be there,” Ignis replied with a slight bow.

“Oh, oh I do not wish to be a bother, and please Y/N.” You smiled.

“Gladiolus Amicitia, Your Highness.”

You giggled, “Lord Gladiolus Amicitia I have heard wonderful things about the King’s future shield.” You replied, before turning your eyes to the smaller man, then to Noctis, “Noctis, he looks a lot like your little friend in your game a few nights ago.”

This got the Prince a strange look. Had Noctis not told anyone about your shared dreams, was it a secret between the two of you?

“Prompto Argentum, Ma’am.” The blonde replied bowing.

“Oh, oh please Prompto there is no need. It is a pleasure to meet you.” You cooed, only to turn as you looked to Noctis who seemed to want your attention.

“If you’re hungry, Specs can fix you something.” Noctis offered scratching the back of his head, a cute little quirk he had.

You were indeed hungry, your Father and Mother had not allowed for you to have a breakfast and only allowed a single cucumber sandwich and tea when you arrived in the Citadel.

“You do not wish to appear fat before the King, you already disgrace us enough.”

You groaned softly at the awful memory, but still, you were rather hungry, “If it shall not be a bother.”

“Of course not Princess, pardon me, Y/N.” Ignis replied, “If you do not mind, following me.”

You moved to follow Ignis, only to find Noctis’s arm offered, “Thank you.”

You followed them through the grand hall ways to a room that looked to be a small home, a little kitchen area and furniture along with walls of books.

You cooed loudly your appreciation at the food before you, Ignis had stated time and time again that it was nothing special, simply a small dish he had thrown together. Yet to you each bite was a blessing, and so perfect, it was absolutely lovely and you felt heavy and wonderful.

“Ignis, this is wonderful, you truly have a gift.” You smiled at the man, finished with your plate. “I have never had anything so amazing.”

“With praise like that, I am honored,” Ignis replied, moving to take your plate. “Would you care for more?”

You blinked at this, you never got more at home, if anything you got less than your siblings and Mother enjoy mentioning time and time again how round you were becoming, unlike your siblings that were taking the shape of your Father. You were rather small and lean, should you stand next to anyone but Mother you would look like the human version of the number 10.

“Would that be okay?” You asked before you realized it.

Ignis blinked before nodding, “Yes, we have more than enough.”

“If it is fine.” You smiled back.

“So, Y/N is Insomnia different than your home?” Prompto asked, he was so sweet!

“Very, Insomnia is so large and beautiful. Such beautiful art, and architecture and the people are wonderful. I had seen glimpses in dreams but never would I think that even my dreams would be dull in comparison.” You smiled, you glance turning to Noctis with a smile, before turning back to the plate set before you.

This truly was much better than a dream.

*

Within week one, you had learned the schedules of those around the Citadel. You would often be found trailing around the halls looking to the beautiful work, attempting to stay out the way of those that were actually here to work.

It wasn’t by the end of the month that the entire castle had become so friendly toward you, a complete opposite of those back home that often shunned you.

Home, that place that hadn’t checked up on you once. Not even a letter, you might have well been dead to them at this point. You were fine with that.

“Good Morning, Princess Y/N.”

As much as you denied the title, some could not give it up, but it was always said in kindness never anger or hatred as at home. “Good Morning, Nyx, Crowe. Are you on your way to training?”

“Yes, Ma’am, would you care to watch again today.”

“If it is no troubles.” You smiled.

You followed them through the familiar halls at this point, smiling at the staff working through the halls, as they greeted you. Insomnia was such a dream compared to those back home.

During the day you were seen about the castle with a huge smile on and found friendliness in those around you. At night you were joined in your dreams with Noctis, the both of you were to your duties, so it wasn’t often you got to join together during the day but in the evenings the two of you were the only things that existed and now that the both of you had a body to go with that voice it made the dreams harder to separate from the rest of the world.

There was also that sweet night where Noctis had fallen asleep and not found you waiting for him. Only for him to wake himself up, get to his phone and message Ignis, who was still working, to bring you some warm milk to help you sleep.

*

“Another ball.” Noctis groaned, moving through the hallways, the others flanking after him. If there was something Noctis hated almost as much as vegetables it was the spring through summer balls, almost one every other week. All those people, all those women pressing against him, and trying to win favor.

Not a good way to spend his Friday night.

“It’s not that bad.” Gladiolus chuckled. “If you weren’t such a wallflower.”

“I don’t know, I still can’t waltz.” Prompto groaned as they rounded a corner.

Noctis huffed, at least there would be something different, you were lucky to miss the first couple of balls this year. You only had to suffer through a few of them before you returned home.

He wondered why that thought filled him with dread.

“Princess Y/N stated this is her first ball.” A maid gossiped around the corner stopping the four.

“Really? I figured that she would have all kinds of men begging for her hand.” Another replied. “Plus some ladies.”

“Josie, you are too much.” The first giggled in returned. “She is so sweet, I had noticed that she had a few marks on her back when helping her dress this evening.”

“Oh, is it from the binding?”

“A corset in this day and age? She has such a fine figure. I would kill for it.”

The four men listen as long as they could before the maids were gone from your dressing room. Only for Noctis to almost collided into you.

“Oh, oh goodness, Noctis, good evening.” You smiled, as he caught you from almost slamming into the walls when you pinwheeled backward, your eyes turning to the others. “Hello everyone.”

Noctis hardly heard you, what you were wearing was beautiful. Granted everything you wore was beautiful once it touched your body, but this! you were so perfect.

“Are you ready for the party, Y/N?” Prompto smiled.

You flushed softly, “I have never been to a ball, I hate to think I’ll be a horrible dancer.”

Gladiolus clapped a hand to Noctis’s back, “No prob, Noct will help you out.”

All evening Noctis found himself watching you, turning down suitor left and right. There were even a handful of times that he’d find staff or even a Glavie move into the path of someone that didn’t seem to have your best interests. It appeared that you had the entire Citadel on your side.

“She’s well protected.” Regis chuckled on his throne beside Noctis. “Everyone seems to enjoy Y/N’s company, yet she had not taken a single dance all evening.”

“Perhaps she is waiting for the right partner,” Clarus replied.

Noctis groaned, these old men were not stubble, so he moved to join the dance floor below.

*

You were so nervous and it felt almost impossible to breathe, never had you been more grateful for those around you. You watched twice Ignis led a young man away from you, a few of the servers move within the path of those leering at you uncomfortably. Gladiolus even stepped before Viscount who had been circling like a hawk. A few of the Glavies even had taken station as to act bodyguards, and wonderful Prompto was sweet enough to get you snacks and drinks.

“We can escort you elsewhere should you like.” Nyx offered.

“Oh, please do not fret for my sake. I am the King’s guest, and it is better to get over one’s nerves at the start then draw it out.” You smiled, touch by their kindness.

“Y/N.”

You turned hearing that voice that always brought a smile to your face, “Prince Noctis.”

“Would you care to dance?”

You flushed, “I have never danced, I don’t wish to make you look foolish.”

Noctis shrugged, “Never been good at it myself.”

You felt a soft nudge, only to turn and see Gladiolus with a smile, as you placed your hands in  Noctis, allowing him to take you to the dance floor.

You tried to ignore the stares around you, as he wrapped his arms around you, taking your hand within his own, as he begun to move you around the floor. You gasped as you stepped on his foot, hearing him grunt in pain.

“I am so sorry.” You whispered, moving to step away, only to feel his grip tighten.

“It’s cool.” He replied, moving you about the floor. “I can’t even think how hard it is in a dress. I can at least see my feet.”

You smiled, Noctis was so sweet to do this.

Still, as you were moved about the room in Noctis’s embrace, you felt your chest tighten. Things were starting to spin more and you felt flushed, extremely so.

“Are you all right?” Noctis asked, taking your arm within his own, as he moved you off the floor, moving toward the balcony to get you some fresh air. “Y/N are you okay?”

You nodded weakly, “I think I became too excited, please pay me no mind.” You smiled as he moved you towards the balcony empty of party goers, setting you down on a bench. “I’m being dramatic, please do not mind me.”

Noctis gave you a look, before providing you his jacket around your shoulders, moving to the door as he asked for Ignis to get you something to drink. Before moving back over to you, you saw his lips moving but all you felt was the rush of blood to your head, and then your vision swirled. You felt a darkness creep into the sides of your vision and a flash of blue.

*

“Specs, is gonna get you something to drink, hopefully, the fresh air, Y/N?” Noctis called all the color had fallen from your face. You then begun to fall backward off the bench, Noctis grabbed his cufflink, ripping the fabric of his suit before tossing it towards you warping after it to catch you before your head hit the ground.

“Y/N, Y/N!”

“Noct I,” Ignis stopped looking to the Prince holding your unconscious body. “Gladio!”

Noctis looked up as Ignis begun to remove his jacket, laying it down, on the bench, helping him move you to the bench. Gladiolus moved out next with Prompto, the balcony blocked by a few Glaives, no need for a scandal.

“She’s not breathing,” Ignis stated, his hand resting to your chest. “I beg pardon, Y/N.”

The man sat you up, as he unzipped the back of your dress, only to find a harder fabric.

“Gladio.”

The tall man moved over, as he grabbed the fabric giving it one hard pull before it ripped like paper in his hand. You took a deep breath yet remained out.

“A corset.” Ignis scoffed. “We will need to get Y/N someplace she’ll be able to rest.”

*

When you awoke you found yourself no longer at the ball, yet instead with a sitting room. Had you fainted, you hadn’t done that since you started corset training. You glanced down finding yourself in a looser dress and blanketed, only to find Noctis sitting beside you, eyes closed more than likely trying to reach you via a dream.

“Noctis.”

Those blue comforting eyes snapped open, before the man was all but trying to climb on the fainting couch with you. Settling for moving to sit beside you.

“Are you all right?” He asked.

You smiled weakly with a nod, “I’m sorry to worry you.”

There seemed to be something else that he was wondering, yet when he opened his mouth the door opened, in coming the others.

“Y/N,” Prompto called, sitting in the chair that Noctis had been in until the Prince joined you on the couch. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m sorry to worry everyone, it simply a fainting spell.” You replied you had put on a little weight while being here, but the food was so yummy.

“It is wonderful to see you are feeling better.” Ignis stated, “We do not wish to overtax you, as you seemed to have been injured in the fall.”

“Injured?”

“Yes we noticed a few marks upon your lower back, we weren’t certain if it was due to your garments or perhaps the fall.”

You flinched, having hoped that those marks would have faded, you did not wish for any of the maids to see your injuries from home, so you often dressed yourself. “Oh, that is simply the memories of a reckless child. I wish to thank you all for coming to my rescue.”

*

Noctis didn’t like it, he knew for a fact he had caught you before your body even touched the ground. Besides the nurse that had dressed you had stated that wounds couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old.

“Y/N.” He called reaching out to touch your hand, “I don’t…”

As his hand connected with your own, he saw it flashes, of a younger you cowering at the mercy of your family. Time and again you were struck, in places no one could see or that you were able to heal. He saw them when he caught you, but now they were more aggresive. 

“You can heal?” Noctis inquired, only for you to blink in confusion at with those large eyes.

“Yes, but how did you…”

“You’re a healer?” Prompto asked, as you nodded softly. “That’s so cool, are you like the Oracle?”

“Oh no, Oracle Lunafreya and I have two separate powers, she is a healer of illness mind and soul, while I am more for the body.” You explained, moving your hand from Noctis’s.

His hand suddenly felt so empty.

“I did not mean to trouble or worry you all.” You stated, your eyes glancing to Noctis than away.

Noctis glanced toward Ignis, finding the man opening his mouth to say something but seemed to have changed his mind.

“You are fine and that is thanks enough. Would you prefer tea?”

You smiled softly, “If it will not be too much of a bother.”

Noctis noticed the way you reacted to his questions of your healing, you did not seem to mind that so much as the marks upon your back. He also wonder of those flashes, memories from your past?

*

“Fireworks?” You inquired, “What are those?”

Prompto perked at this, “You never seen fireworks?” At the shake of your head the blonde seemed to get even more excited. “They’re these awesome flashes that light up the sky, they amazing!”

Gladiolus chuckled as Prompto shoved his phone in your face, “The Festival of the Sixth is coming up soon, we should take her.”

Ignis smiled, “Capital idea, its been quite some time since we’ve gone.”

“I don’t wish to impose or cause any troubles.” You offered, only to feel Noctis hand on your own.

“It’ll be fun.”

You thought back to the conversation that lead you outside holding tightly to Noctis’s hand, this was your first time not being surrounded by the walls of a building. Just two months ago you had your first car ride when your Father dropped you off, and now you were holding tightly to Noctis’s hand as you were driven to someplace new.

When you had told the others that you had never been allowed outside your palace walls, and the news traveled to King Regis himself, it seems the entire Citadel was doing everything they could to allow you to feel the sun and rain and anything in between.

When news broke that you’d be taking your first trip outside the palace walls, you were given a new wardrobe, at the King’s expense as your family still had not checked in on you.  There was also apparently a waiting list of those that wish to escort you, it appeared that to stop infighting Cor was to act cheaprone of the night.

“There is a little trek, will you be fine, Y/N?” Ignis inquired, noting your shoes.

You did not have any heels shorter than a pump, but you did not wish to interpret the fun. “I’m certain I’ll be fine.”

“Why not get some Chocobos?” Prompto offered.

You gasped, hand clutched to your chest, “They have Chocobos here?”

Gladiolus chuckled, “You’ve never seen a Chocobo?”

You shook your head, “Never a tamed one, a few would wander through the courtyard but the gardeners would always chase them away.”

You felt Noctis place his hand within your own, a feeling that you had come to enjoy a lot, “Then lets get some.”

You cooed, at the large birds nuzzling and cuddling against you, unaware of the huge smile on your face, or the giggles that escaped you as you had made new friends. Nor the pictures the Prompto had take, that he would show you later.

“We do not wish to be late,” Cor replied.

There were only five Chocobos in your party, and you smiled finding that yourself and Noctis had to share one. The feeling of his hands on your hips as he lifted you up to ride side saddle, before climbing on behind you, arms wrapped around you as you shifted to lean into his chest, as the bird trotted off.

By dusk your group had managed to get to a vista point, still within the safety of the Kingdom’s shielding, but far enough away that it appeared to be a painting among a purple and orange background.

“I have had so much fun here.” You found yourself saying before you realized it. “I kind of hope that it will be a dream that I never have to wake up from.”

Noctis chuckled behind you, “You don’t have to go, I’m sure my Dad and the others like having you around.”

You giggled finding yourself feeling forward, as you looked up to the man keeping you perfectly perched on the bird, still so handsome and welcoming, “And what of you?”

The wait of time that it took for Noctis to answer you made you almost worried that you had frightened him.

“Noctis you don’t have to…”

“I love it.”

You blinked, he loved having you around? Is that what he meant for real. He loved being with you? Did he really mean that?

“I lo…”

BOOM!

You squeaked, your hands clutching tightly to the man before you, your eyes sealed shut. A safety in this world.

*

“I’ve got you.”

Noctis felt you jump and wrap your arms tightly around him, burying your face within his chest as you squeaked as you almost threw you both off the bird. It was adorable, you were adorable.  A hand released the reins before resting on the back of your head, stroking your hair.

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” He whispered as he felt you shake. “Come on, open your eyes, or you’ll miss the fireworks.”

He watched as your eyes slowly open, before starting widely in the night sky as color after color lite up the sky. You were so perfect.

Noctis held you as you all watched the fireworks, he held you as the Chocobo’s made the long walk back to the roost. He held as you fell asleep against him in the car. It would be a long while back to the Citadel, he figured that he’d be able to rest alongside you.

*

“Oh please don’t worry too much about it.” You called to the maid assisting you in your attire for this evening’s ball.

“But Ma’am, this would absolutely compliment Prince Noctis attire.” The maid replied.

You giggled, “If you believe that it will do me good. I trust your judgment better than my own.” You smiled, allowing the maid to put your headpiece in.

“Absolutely everything looks stunning on you.” The maid cooed, as another helped you into your shoes, as you were unable to see your feet from the long floor length mermaid gown.

“You flatter me too much.”

You could enjoy being around the maids, well anyone in the Citadel, all day. For a city named after such a tired condition, it was so lively and welcoming, much like a dream.  At this point, you had gone to 3 more parties, and with the assistance of Ignis, you had learned a few more steps to the waltz, along with a few more partnering dances. Granted your only dance partner of the evening was Noctis, other might have tried but the Glavie often saw to you being reserved for Noctis. Which you found yourself extremely happy for, considering Noctis was the only one that moved you about the floor so beautifully.

As you moved into the ballroom with your name announced, you couldn’t help the smile on your face. There was so much affection in the room! You still found yourself often being a bit of a wallflower until Noctis came to your rescue for a dance, but you were fine with that.

As the party moved on, you found Noctis moving you to the dance floor only to stop as you heard the horrid introduction of King Deformis and his Queen Turpis.

Why were they here! They hadn’t thought to check up on you in nearly 3 months, why would they show up all of the sudden? You clung to Noctis, worried that if you let him go your legs would give out from underneath you and you’d collapse to the ground. Only this time you did not have a corset to blame on your condition.

The entire room grew silent as your parents approached yourself and Noctis in the middle of the dance floor.

“Why?”

*

Noctis heard the small mutter of fear, before turning his eyes to your parents. He could not forget that flash of violence he saw where they had tormented and hurt you. He moved you slightly behind himself when he noticed Turpis give you a once over.

“My Gods Child you have gotten so huge!” The woman sneered, all height and bones, as if her skin was hanging onto her frame, while she desperately try for an attire she was too old for quite the opposite from her husband. “You are to introduce us at once child!”

“Oh, Prince Noctis,” You whispered stepping around the man, closer to your parents as you motioned toward them. “My Father and Mother, King Deformis, and Queen Turpis.”

Noctis noticed the desperate look in your eyes as if you were about to cry. He wanted to gather you into his arms and make certain that look never crossed your face again. He noticed that most of the Glavie had moved forward to the surrounding circle on the dance floor, almost like a schoolyard brawl waiting to see the action.

Turpis gave the Prince a once over before turning her eyes back to you, “This is your coming of season child, have you forgotten why you’re here?”

You flinched at a memory of a strike as you lowered your head, “Yes, Mother, please may we do this elsewhere in private?”

Turpis growled as she stepped towards you, “You are even lucky that you are welcomed here, and we are given word that you would even like to stay here. What foolish spell have you cast on these men to think you are worthy?”

“Mother, I thought that you wished for me to marry.”

“No one would wish to marry something like you!”

Noctis watched you flinch again, your arms moving to shield your face before quickly thinking better, a motion you shouldn’t have to do. Even now you were shown more politeness than this woman deserved.  When it clicked, your parents had sent you only to believe that you would fail.

“Enough,” Noctis growled, his fingers twitching to summon a sword.

“Noctis.” You whispered softly above a cry lifting your head, that sound made his heart hurt.

“Noctis?” Deformis sputtered taking your arm as you cried out feeling it bruise, the entire Glavie took a step forward awaiting the order to strike the enemy, “You believe to be on friendly terms with the Prince, child you are more deranged than we previously thought. How many did you have to lay with in order to get this far, or does the Prince have room for a harlot?”

“Father please don’t speak ill of Noctis and the others.”

Noctis growled deeper, even now you were trying to defend them rather than yourself. He wished to grab a hold of you and pull you back to his side, but you weren’t an item to him. He would not hurt you more than they already have had. Only to hiss as Turpis grabbed your other arm, then placing a hand to the back of your head, shoving you forward as your knees slammed to the ground. How many times did they do this, that you didn’t attempt to fight it. You hardly let out a cry.

“Stop it!” Noctis barked, a sword in his hand. He saw flashes of light around him, watching at the rest of the Glavie summoned their weapons, even a few of the staff had brandish knives and platters, ready to attack.

Turpis had the nerve to look to the Prince and give a smile full of lies, “Prince Noctis, we apologize for putting this child on you. She will not make a good wife for yourself, let alone a servant.”

Derformis gave a chuckle, his hand to your shoulder, keeping you in a bowing position, “She shall not trouble your doorstep further. She will reap what she sows. To believe she could attempt to wed one as yourself. Like her horrid mother casting a spell on all those here.”

Noctis moved forward only to stop as he heard you crying.

“We are not engaged, please the only thing Prince Noctis has given me is friendship.” You sobbed to the ground.

Turpis hissed as she leaned forward, her pose duplicating her husbands a hand to your shoulder, using her weight to hold you down to your knees, shoving you forward still so that your forehead touched the ground. “That’s very well then he is safe from your corruption. It is a fine thing that we came to warn him of your ill intent. Did he have his way with you?” She growled as you sobbed loudly. “It would only make sense, the daughter of a whore is a whore in herself.”

“Noctis…” You cried, your face still to the floor. “I am so sorry.”

“She admits it, you dirty little harlot.” Turpis cackled. “No one shall ever have to deal with you again.”

Noctis stepped forward, was this these creatures plan all along, to humiliate you before everyone. He could not attack with his sword as he please but that didn’t mean he couldn’t intimidate them, “Unhand her now!”

He heard you let out a gut-wrenching sob as you softly whispered his name, repeating how sorry you were but htis wasn’t your fault, “You claim to be the parents of the woman I love,”

Turpis scoffed, “I claim no such thing, of this harlot.”

“Silence!” Noctis barked turning his sword to strike as the woman hushed immediately. “All of the things you think I do not know of Y/N, I know. This petty act you put before us now does not change what I feel for her.”

Deformis turned harsh eyes to you, “What spell do you have them under? Tell me!” The round King rose his cane, to strike, only to feel his wrist grasped rather tightly. Only to find Gladiolus holding tightly to his arm, bending it in such a way that the cane clattered to the floor.

Turpis hissed to the younger shield, “You release my husb…” Only to stop short at the dagger pointed at her.

“You have been shrieking long enough Harpy.” Ignis growled, “Now both of you release, Y/N.”

At the same time, the two released you as you stumbled forward, looking to the gloved hand before you, as Ignis, a dagger still to Turpis assisted you in standing. Both he and Gladiolus moving to protect your back from your parents, no these creature’s gaze, as the guard slowly moved in, only awaiting the order to defend.

Noctis placed his sword to his side, as he held out his arm. Watching as you moved quickly over to his embrace, he held you close as he leaned forward only for you to hear. “Are you all right?” A soft nod against his collarbone, he pressed a kiss to your forehead before turning pointing his sword back to your parents still at the mercy of Gladiolus and Ignis and a rather pissed Citadel waiting to pounce.

“Prince Noctis, you do not understand, that child, that creature is of dark magic,” Deformis stated, his arm still within Gladiolus’s strong grip. “She is better off dead, like her witch of a Mother. She kept it all out of sight, how else do you explain your feelings for this monster.”

The entire room growled at this, having dealt with magic all day they would know if they were under a spell. If the spell you casted was of kindess they gladly welcomed it.

Turpis nodded, “She is still of our Kingdom should you take her it will be an act of war.”

Noctis turned harsh eyes to them, “Y/N is a part of Insomnia now. You will leave here and never return. You will not speak to or about her. You will have no communications to her ever again. What ruin you think you have brought upon her, look around, the only ones ruin are yourself.” Noctis motioned to those that were waiting for the word to come to your defense. “The only reason you are not cast out is due to Y/N’s grace. You are absolutely nothing, she has no long ties to you as I will give her my name and the respect she deserves. Now leave.”

Deformis quickly attempted to backtrack, “Your Highness, you don’t understand she is the daughter of Deamon, a witch. She must pay for her crimes with her life. She is nothing!”

Noctis huffed, pulling you even closer still as he felt you trembling. Only to turn as Regis finally joined the floor.

“I believe my son and daughter have spoken, Y/N is protected by my power.” Regis scoffed to those below him. “She has the name Lucis Caelum, should you attack her, you attack myself, and should I recall correctly, you have requested our assistance for the last 100 years. You are to leave immediately. Guards!”

Noctis watched as members of the Glavie seemed to descend, rather happy that they would be able to give these creatures what they deserved, Moving before the three of you, protecting their Princess. As it should be.

Noctis turned to you still hiding within his collarbone, “I’ll have Prompto take you to the sitting room. I’ll be there soon.”

*

You didn’t mean to hold so tightly to Prompto, but right now you needed a friend. Besides when you lessened your grip, the blonde instead tighten his grip. You kept telling him you were fine, but the tears didn’t stop. He held your hand an arm around your shoulders, as he moved you to a separate holding room, so your parents wouldn’t see you on the way out.

The kindness that everyone came to your defense. You truly loved this place.

“You hungry?” Prompto asked using his tie to dry your face, no matter how much you tried to let him know the back of your hand was fine enough. “Or thirsty, when I cry, I get super thirsty.”

You tried to smile as you blubbered out, “You *hiccup* cry?”

“All the time.” Prompto beamed, “Sometimes all you can do is cry, and then smile because you got through it.”

“Prompto.” You whined before a new wave of tears started.

“You know what else helps tears, cake! And they have this awesome layered cake, I’ll see if someone can bring us a piece or the whole cake.” Prompto beamed, handing you his tie, before moving over to the door.

You held the tie tightly in hand, you’d be certain to give it back to him clean and proper. “Thank you.”

Prompto smiled over his shoulder, “Anything for one of my best friends, and my best friends wife.” He called before asking someone to get you something to drink and a few pieces of cake, before coming to join you back on the couch. “You know, Noct always told me about these dreams that he was having, he would say that ‘The person on the other side of his dreams always made him feel better.’ I asked him if he believed in soulmates. Wanna know what he said?”

You blinked large eyes, “What?”

“Well, first he took a nap for two hours,” Prompto stated as you giggled loudly. “But when he woke up, he said ‘Not really.’ but that day you showed up here, he stated that he knew you were the one. The one who visited him in his dreams and wanted to spend the rest of his life with.”

“Prompto.” You whispered feeling your face heat up.

Prompto chuckled, “Noct doesn’t get sappy a lot but with you, it’s awesome. I’m glad to have met you Y/N.”

You reached over taking Prompto’s hand again, “I’m happy to have been able to meet you too. Everyone.”

A knock came at the door, as a maid wheeled in a tray with the cake, “Excuse me, Princess.” She smiled, as she begun to cut the cake, and handing you a piece before starting on your tea. “Princess, Prince Noctis would be around shortly, and I….”

You caught her hands, as she handed the saucer to you, “Please tell me what’s on your mind.”

The maid smiled softly, “We are so happy that you will be leaving us. The entire Citadel would have been empty, with you here it is a dream.”

You smiled, placing your tea down before cupping her hands, “I feel the same way. I am happy that I can stay with everyone.”

The maid beamed brightly, as she bowed, “Welcome home Princess.”

*

“That took a longer time than I thought.” Gladiolus groaned following after Noctis.

“Indeed,” Ignis agreed before adding smugly, “I do have to commend you on your aim with the cane.”

Gladiolus chuckled, “You’re one to talk, with that help assistance of getting them in their car.”

“One so round would have troubles with seeing one’s feet.”

Noctis chuckled, having banished those assholes from the Citadel felt awesome. Still, he didn’t understand why Regis sent word to them about your elongated stay. Then again no one else knew of the horrors they were to you.

As he entered the room where Prompto had taken you, he wasn’t surprised to hear laughter instead of crying. Prompto was pretty good at that.

“Hey Noct.” Prompto smiled, as you both turned to him. Prompto turned back to you as he smiled brightly. “I’ll try and grab some ice cream for you tomorrow.”

You giggled softly, holding the man’s hand, “I look forward to it.”

Noctis watched as Prompto left the room, leaving only the two of you there.

“Noctis.” You whispered softly as he turned to you. “How long have you known?”

Noctis sighed as he stepped forward, “A while. I saw it after you fainted and a few time in your, um our? Dreams.” He replied. “I didn’t want to say anything because you were so happy, and I wanted to make sure that smile never left your face. To not seeing you for so many years and then to think I would willingly put you back in that nightmare, even if I had to fight them all, I would have.”

The Prince looked up as he felt a hand on his cheek, unaware that you had stood, nor that you had closed the gap between the two of you. A soft smile on your face as you made him look into your eyes.

“I didn’t mean that.” You smiled.

Noctis blinked confused, “What did you mean?”

“How long did you know that,” You flushed softly, Noctis noticed that you were about to remove your hand from his face, so he leaned into it. “You stated that I was the woman you loved.”

Noctis blushed deeply, “Yeah.”

He loved the way you glanced away before looking at him beyond your lashes, “Is that okay?”

Noctis chuckled, wrapping an arm around your waist, “If I am under your spell, I don’t wish to be released.”  He pulled you close, “I promised to give you my name, that is if you’d like it.”

You rested your head against his chest, “The name I was given for birth has given me nothing but pain. I would be honored.”

*

“I don’t think we’re supposed to see each other.” You giggled.

“That’s in the real world, we make up our own rules here,” Noctis replied, sitting beside you at the beautiful lakeside in your dream.

“Do you think Ignis is going to be mad?”

“Nah, Specs could never get mad at you, me on the other hand.”

You giggled loudly as you rested your head on his shoulder, “To think my husband was always by my side.”

Noctis blushed deeply, even in your dreams he would turn such a lovely shade of pink, only for him to stiffen, “I think Specs is trying to wake me up.”

“Oh, I should wake up shortly too, I believe I fell asleep underneath the hair dryer.” You giggled, as you pressed a kiss to  his cheek. “I’ll see you at the altar?”

“How else will I give you my name?”

You hummed feeling the man press a kiss to your lips, in a dream it always felt nice but in the real world, it felt even better. You watched as Noctis disappeared back to the waking world. You turned to follow your husband to be only to stop and stare at the little white creature sitting not far from you.

The same one that brought you to your first dream with Noctis all those years ago, you watched as it gave you a cheep  with a wave of its fluffy tail. This same little one that gave you hope, and a new start, all be it bought you your soulmate.

Once upon a dream…~☆

[otruaighe-blog]

“do you lie awake at night to come up with all your witty replies for the following day?” cor @ clarus !

↪ a court of thorns and roses sentence starters // @grandschemed ( cor. ) // accepting         ↪ clarus amicitia 

    Lips upturned into the semblance of an amused smirk but Clarus tried to keep his expression stoic as he stood steadfast at parade rest. Gloved hands were clasped behind his back but he flexed and closed them briefly before letting them relax.

“Do you often contemplate what I am doing late into the night, Cor?” Clarus replied, finally allowing his smirk to stretch across his face much like a cat who had got the cream.

“I believe I should be flattered by that.”

[lucianprincess]

Chapter 13 : Private audience

M.E. 752

A week passed since Gladiolus had discovered the secret training of Aurora and Ignis. The two young men had long discussed how to approach the subject with their friend's father, but it was clear that they dreaded his reaction. Ignis, being the closest to the King, had made a request for a private audience with him. The latter was somewhat surprised by his approach, having the habit of crossing him regularly and talking to him with a little less convenience. But the young advisor insisted on following the protocol, just like any other of his subjects. Regis agreed and offered to receive them in the throne room. He welcomed them with a benevolent attitude but always very worthy of a sovereign. Clarus Amicitia, beside him, saluted them with a nod.

— What is the honor of receiving you both here?

Ignis, a little more comfortable with this type of exercise, spoke up.

— We would have liked to talk to you about your daughter, Your Majesty.

— I'm listening to you.

— As you already know, Aurora takes the affairs of the kingdom very much to heart and reads all the reports I write initially for her brother. However, she doesn't aspire to become a mere politician like some Council's members and as you hoped. She wants to fight to defend her King and her homeland, like the former Queens of Lucis.

Regis leaned back in his seat, leaned on his elbows and hold his chin, thoughtful. Ignis paused slightly, hesitating, before continuing.

— A year ago, I caught her at the Crownsguard training hall with one of our swords and ... I decided to train her myself to watch over her.

— Without asking my consent? It doesn't look like you, Ignis.

Ignis inclined his chest very low, sorry, seeking the clemency of his sovereign.

— Please, forgive me, Your Majesty. But ... I was taken aback ... And I wanted to prevent anything happening to her as a result of the awakening of her abilities to use royal magic two years ago.

Regis frowned imperceptibly, nervously clutching his jaw.

— Two years ago ? It might have been a good idea to inform me. This magic is not trivial.

— I know. Excuse me, Your Majesty.

The tone employed by the King was not accusing or angry. He was especially taken aback by the revelations he had just heard. His voice softened, resuming his benevolent look.

— Straighten up, Ignis. I have no doubt that you tried to channel my daughter on the use of her gifts.

The young man took a straighter stance and nodded. Gladiolus, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

— Anyway, Your Majesty, your daughter would like to join the Crownsguard. I had the opportunity to test her abilities in combat. She has potential and above all a great desire to protect what she cherrishes.

— I take note, Gladiolus. But you'll easily understand that I can't make a decision right away.

Gladiolus nodded, understanding, under the watchful eye of his father.

— Thank you for sharing this with me. I don't hold you back anymore.

The two boys bowed, respectfully bowing to their King before leaving, not knowing what to think of their interview. But at least things had been said.

A few days passed. Regis had turned the subject of this discussion in his mind and he could not take a decision. He wanted to continue protecting his daughter. But he also knew that he had to stop overprotected her and would eventually flown the nest sooner or later. He also wanted to settle the conflicts involving the kingdom to spare his children from having to take up arms in their turn. But he was afraid of not getting there in time, feeling a little weaker more every day. He invited Cor Leonis, commander of the Crownsguard, and Titus Drautos, captain of the Kingsglaives, to join him in the throne room to explain the situation.

— A Princess who wants to join the Crownsguard? We'll have definitely seen everything.

— What is it bothering you with the fact that she wants to protect her brother and his homeland, Captain? I find her initiative rather laudable.

— Laudable? If something happens to the princely children, the Lucis will have no more heir, Marshal.

— Certainly. But Aurora is stubborn and will not give up so easily. As well training her properly to avoid her a certain death the day she'll really fight.

— And I suppose when you talk about training her, you want to include me in the process since she seems to have awakened to royal magic?

The King listened to the exchange between his officers. The two points of view were equal and he did not know what to do. Suddenly his thoughts cleared at his Captain's remark.

— That wouldn't be a bad idea, Captain Drautos.

— Your Majesty…

— The Kingsglaives are the best able to take care of this part of her apprenticeship.

— If it's your wish ... I'll try to find her a trustworthy tutor in this case.

Regis nodded, understanding that his Captain also had a lot of things to do in order to personally handle this task.

— Regarding the Crownsguard, I see no objection to her joining it.

— Are you sure that this is not a passing fad on her part, Your Majesty?

— I know my daughter, Marshal Leonis. Aurora is serious and involved in everything she does. If she wasn't sure she wanted to do something, she wouldn't do it discreetly in everyone's back for several years.

— You aren't wrong on this point.

— I'll let you evaluate her skills and judge whether or not to proceed with her final integration into your unit. I trust you about it.

— Sure, Your Majesty.

— Thank you both for your advice. You're dismissed.

The two men bowed and took leave of their sovereign, leaving only Regis and Clarus in the throne room. The King rose from his seat, advancing towards one of the windows, and his eyes were lost on the horizon, pensive. His childhood friend laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

— You made the right decision Regis.

— I hope Clarus. I hope so.

[shieldandcrown]

"Mr. Amicitia?" Prompto called out as he rushed up to the man, files in his hands as he caught up to him. "Cor wanted me to give these to you." The blonde handed over the papers with some nervousness as it had been awhile since he spoke to the man.

Clarus’ brow rose as he accepted the files with a slight smile, inclining his head. “Just what are these, Mister Argentum? Though thank you, for their prompt delviery. I’m not sure Cor would’ve quite wanted you to run them to me,” he said, almost teasingly.