This is a one-shot I wrote for a friend, but I figured couldn't hurt to post it too. Hope you enjoy!
Yes, Rosa is a small reference to FFII, but in name only. I figured Luna and Noctis wouldn't want to carry on the dark/light pattern of their names, trying to distance themselves from their harsh pasts with a fresh start.
Noctis walked towards the bedroom with dread. He had promised his wife and daughter he would be home in time to read little Rosa a bedtime story. Unfortunately, trade negotiations with the excessively talkative Prime Minister of Accordio had taken far longer than he originally planned for. He had to nearly threaten his staff with treason to convince them to pilot the yacht in the night, an admittedly stupid decision, so he could at the very least be there when his family woke up in the morning. Many nights as a child had been spent falling asleep by the windowsill waiting for his father to come home after a promise to read him a bedtime story, only to find the next morning he had yet to return home.
The young King pushed opened the bedroom door, feeling a tight pang of guilt at the sight that greeted him. Lunafreya was asleep on the bed, Rosa asleep on her shoulder, a book next to the Queen's lap on the bed. At least she got her story. He thought to himself, grateful that Rosa at least had Lunafreya. I'll make it up to her tomorrow. He promised himself. The pair had fallen asleep in the center of the bed, leaving no room for Noctis to join his family. Not wanting to wake them, he settled himself onto the armchair next to the bookcase, removed his jacket to tuck it behind his head, and fell asleep.
"Daddy!" Noctis felt a sudden impact against his chest before his brain could register the voice, jarring him violently from his sleep. His bleary eyes quickly focused on the five-year-old who had launched herself onto his lap. Her raven hair was a wild mess, pale blue eyes wide with the energy only a child could have at this ungodly hour. What time is it? He pondered, and saw the sky was barely a dark red indicating the pre-dawn.
"Morning Rosa," he smiled. Normally he would have pleaded with the child to go back to bed, but with the return of consciousness his guilt about breaking his promise to her came flooding back. I always promised I would never break promises to my child like my father did to me. He forced back the thoughts, and returned her energetic hug. Maybe she forgot about the promise. He thought, knowing her attention span was about as long as his own.
"You still owe me a bedtime story!" Whelp. So much for that hope. His mind raced for a way to make it up to her, intending to cancel any meetings or work for the day baring a war breaking out in the next hour. She loves chocobos, Uncle Prompto certainly made sure of that. He thought.
"How about I make it up to you by taking you to the chocobos today? Then read you a story tonight?" He asked as a peace offering,
"Chocobos!" The young girl shouted, her pale cheeks flushing pink with excitement as she charged over to the bed where Lunafreya was still asleep, against all logic. The girl threw herself on her mother's chest as she had done her father, the grunt of her forced exhale making Noctis chuckle from across the room. "Momma! Get up! Daddy's gonna take me to the chocobos! Get up! Up! Up!" She pulled on her mother's arms,
"Careful Rosa… remember what Mommy said about her belly?" She answered, sitting up and instinctively placing a hand across her abdomen, shifting to the edge of the bed before slowly standing with an exaggerated groan. She winced for a moment once she stood, "every morning…" she complained, waiting for the flash of numbness in her feet to fade before daring to walk away from the edge of the bed.
"Honey?" Noctis called, the concern clear in his tone.
"I'm fine. Just that numbness in my feet again. Only lasts for a few seconds. Weirdest thing," She shook her head. "Rosa never did this to me, why is this one being such a brat?" she asked, rubbing her enlarged belly. "Probably takes more after you," she offered as an explanation, giving her husband a grin, as he gave her a playful glare. She was eight months pregnant with their second child. Noctis was hoping for a boy, having been gifted a daughter, and Lunafreya insisted on keeping the gender a surprise. Pregnancy had been difficult for her the first time, labor had been even worse, and mingled with his undeniable excitement, he was nervous for her. "What time is it?" she asked, her smile vanishing as she realized how dark it was, and how tired she still was. Noctis fished his phone out of the pocket of the jacket he had been using as a pillow.
"Umm… quarter-past-five," he answered, and rolled his eyes at the hour, feeling a dull throb behind his eyes as Rosa continued to plead with her parents to get up get up get up. "Rosa… peanut, too early…" he asked, "Wiz's won't be open this early…"
"I'm going to catch a little more sleep," Lunafreya stated, regretting that she put herself through the discomfort in her feet for nothing. "I'm always the one up early, your turn. If I had known all it took to get you out of bed in the morning was to throw myself on your stomach or chest, I would have tried that years ago!" She chuckled. Noctis wanted to suggest joining her in bed, but knew with how excited Rosa was he never would convince the child to go back to bed for a few hours, and resigned himself to a long groggy morning.
"Okay Rosa, come on, let's let mommy sleep," He picked her up when she went charging at his legs, and swinging her around his neck to carry her on his back, her loud giggles making his ears ring as she clung to his neck, "loosen up, loosen up!" he gagged, and shifted her weight on his back as she loosened her grip around his neck, giggling an apology. "Shh, mommy's trying to sleep. You hungry?" he asked, carrying her away from the bedroom.
"Yeah," she answered in a loud whisper.
"What do you want to eat?" he asked, taking her towards the dining room. The kitchen staff were usually awake around this time to prepare the work for the day, so he didn't feel very bad bothering them at such an early hour. They had grown used to the occasional crack of dawn meals with a young child in the Citadel.
"Pancakes," she answered quickly, the same answer she had been giving every morning for what felt like months. He wished he could get her to eat something a little more wholesome such as fruit or oatmeal. He was at least able to get her to eat some fruit by having them cooked into the pancakes, even if they were drowned in syrup.
"Okay, pancakes it is," he agreed.
"Wait wait!" she halted him, "I left Bonbon upstairs," she whined. Bonbon was a stuffed chocobo that she had named after Ebony, the black chocobo Noctis and his friends had rescued as an egg years ago and raised by Wiz. He sighed, wishing she had thought of it before he made it down the three flights of stairs. But there was no use arguing on fetching Bonbon later. He turned back around, walked back up the stairs to the bedroom,
"Now remember, mommy's sleeping so wait here I'll go get Bonbon for you," he whispered, placing his daughter back to the floor outside of the bedroom. She nodded her agreement, Noctis entering the bedroom and found Bonbon on the bed with the children's book Lunafreya had read to her last night,
"Noct?" a muffled voice inquired,
"Rosa forgot Bonbon, go back to sleep." He replied, a muffled moan was the reply he got and he leaned forward to kiss Lunafreya's forehead, seeing the smile pulling her cheeks before she rolled onto her side, mumbling a nearly silent love you. He carried the stuffed animal back to the hall, and made a second attempt at breakfast.
"Pancakes!" Rosa exclaimed excitedly when presented with her plate after the second walk towards the dining room was more successful. Father and daughter enjoyed some blueberry pancakes with a glass of juice. He was more relaxed with how much syrup he let Rosa use than her mother would have been, but he still couldn't shake his guilt about the previous night even if his daughter didn't seem to be holding any resentment towards him about it.
"No telling mommy how much syrup daddy let you use," he suggested, and she nodded,
"Our secret," she replied before shoving a dripping wad of sugar-coated food into her mouth. Noctis had poured nearly as much syrup on his own food, taking advantage of his wife's absence to fully indulge his sweet tooth.
"How was school yesterday?" he asked.
"Miss Lilly read us a story about ducks, we ate apples, umm we drew pictures," she answered.
"Sounds like a good day,"
"Yeah! Then at playtime I played tag. I can run really fast so I had a lot of fun!" Noctis was grateful that school seemed to be off to a good start. He wasn't sure how many years of normalcy she would be able to enjoy before the other kids realized precisely who she was. It was for this reason Noctis and Lunafreya struggled greatly when deciding where to send her to school. They wanted to allot her the most normal childhood possible, but being Princess of Lucis this was only going to be so possible.
"What book did mommy read last night?" He asked, trying to suppress his own guilt.
"Mister bear makes pie," she replied. "Can we make pie like mister bear?" He was surprised by the question, though he shouldn't be; she was beginning to show interest in new activities. He had never learned to cook himself, relying on Citadel staff and then relying on Ignis after moving out.
"Let's ask mommy later today," he answered as a peace offering. He didn't quite have the energy so early in the morning to handle a possible fight should he say no.
"All done eating. Can we go to the chocobos now?" She asked, bouncing in her seat. He saw she had indeed eaten an adequate amount of her meal. She had a habit of saying she was full after only a bite or two if there was an activity she was excited for that awaited her after a meal.
"After mommy wakes up," he answered, but quickly realized his mistake when Rosa shot up from her chair and started running back towards their bedroom. He caught her halfway up the hallway, "whoa! I said after mommy wakes up, not after we wake mommy," he explained. The child pouted her bottom lip and crossed her arms,
"Not fair," she complained. "Mommy needs to wake up,"
"Mommy is tired," merely saying the word was enough to make Noctis yawn. "Let's go play outside until she wakes up," Rosa pouted again, but led her father outside anyway, Bonbon's foot clutched tightly in her hand.
**,**
Lunafreya was able to pull herself out of bed an hour later, not having been able to fall completely back to sleep after the way her daughter had woken her up. She yawned and stretched, dangling her feet over the edge of the bed and grimaced, trying to psych herself up for the flash of pins-and-needles that would rush across her feet for the first several seconds she stood. As if to laugh at her discomfort she felt a hearty kick under her left rib, causing her to double over,
"Oof! Little one..." she moaned, rubbing her stomach and pushing on the spot where she felt a foot still pushing hard against her lower ribs. "move… please?" she complained, but gave up after several tries of pushing the foot down a bit only to have it move right back a moment later. The discomfort in her feet lasted only a moment, replaced with a dull ache in her lower back. She shook her head, deciding she'd feel better after a hot cup of tea and a warm breakfast.
Her stomach having ended its ceaseless bouts of nausea months ago, she enjoyed a breakfast of toast, eggs, and fresh fruit. She had a feeling that she would find her husband and daughter playing outside and carried her half-finished tea with her. Noctis was sitting on a bench while Rosa played with the familiar chocobo stuffy and several toy trucks she had left in her sandbox the day before. She was halfway toward the bench when Rosa noticed her mother was finally awake,
"Mommy's awake!" she shouted excitedly, and ran towards her mother. Lunafreya had only a moment to quickly extend her arm so there was no chance of her sloshing hot tea on her daughter's head, ruffling the girl's black hair as she collided with her. "can we go now? Daddy said we could go to the chocobos once you woke up!" Lunafreya chuckled at her excitement,
"Did he now?" she answered, glancing at Noctis who shrugged innocently at her.
"Can we go now?" she asked impatiently. Noctis walked over to join the pair, taking the mug from his wife so she could relax her arm.
"I felt bad about last night so I promised to take her to Wiz's," he explained with a sheepish smile.
"I suppose I should dress then," she answered, glancing down at the robe she had wrapped around her sleepwear. Rosa shouted her agreement, and Noctis added that it was probably a good idea before their daughter simply exploded into confetti. She returned to her bedroom to change. She had purchased maternity wear, but felt strange wearing it. She didn't like how she looked in the dresses, feeling too much like she was draped in little more than a sheet with her large belly and had opted for the specially designed pants and shirts. She chose a pair of black pants, and a grey and purple top she had begun to prefer after Noctis told her how pretty he thought it made her look. She pulled a white jacket over it, and rejoined her family.
While she dressed Noctis had wrestled Rosa into her jacket, and donned his own. It was early spring, so the air still held a slight chill though the weather was still warm enough that they would be able to enjoy a chocobo ride.
"Who's driving?" Lunafreya inquired after Nocits told her that their car, the Regalia II, had been pulled up front.
"I wanted a family day so I'll drive,"
"Somewhere in this citadel Ignis feels a chill in the air. He cannot explain his unease, he only knows he feels a disturbance," Lunafreya replied, wiggling her fingers using a whispering voice. Although she didn't get the joke, Rosa giggled at her mother teasing her father, and then proclaimed a loud eww when Noctis responded to her teasing with a kiss,
"Love you too Honey," he grinned, loving the smile she gave him in return. They walked to the waiting car. Rosa had asked if she could sit in the front,
"I'm a big girl!" she explained, trying to argue she didn't need her car seat.
"You want to see the chocobos?" Noctis asked,
"Yeah!"
"Then you need to get in your car seat,"
"I'm a big girl though," she pouted.
"Yes, you are. But you aren't a grown up yet, you need the car seat until you're a grown up. Now please get in your car seat or we can't see the chocobos," he pleaded. This was not an unfamiliar argument. Rosa had taken to trying to talk her way out of the car seat over the last couple of weeks, often times the royal couple having to resort to bribing her into the car seat just to get to where they needed to go after they grew exhausted from the argument. She definitely takes after her mother. Stubborn as hell. Luckily for the couple, this time the promise of chocobos was enough to get her to settle and allow her father to buckle the car seat.
"You have Bonbon?" Noctis asked, and his daughter held up the stuffy, much to his relief not wanting to even imagine the nightmare that would erupt should the treasured toy have been left in the yard by accident. He got into the driver's seat himself, and began the long drive to Wiz's chocobo post.
**,**
Two hours and thirteen thousand 'are we there yet's later, the Regalia II pulled into the post. The familiar sound of the large birds kwehing greeted them, and Noctis nearly dropped Rosa out of the car, struggling the overly excited wriggling child out of her car seat,
"Hold onto Bonbon tight," he reminded her, and the little girl hugged the toy to her chest, bouncing in place hardly able to wait for Noctis to help Lunafreya stand from the low car,
"That is way harder than it should be," she groaned, rubbing her lower back from the effort of getting up from the passenger seat. "We need a taller car…" Rosa skipped in front of her parents, her father speed-walking to keep up with her, Lunafreya pulling up in the rear.
"Well hey there, long time no see Highness!" Wiz greeted them.
"Good to see you Wiz,"
"Look how big you've gotten!" He turned his attention to the little girl who was excitedly asking if she could go up to the pen and look at all the chocobos. Noctis nodded to her, shouting that she better not wander off and to stay in sight, though he wasn't too worried as Lunafreya closely followed the quivering ball of excitement.
"How's Ebony doing?" Noctis asked. The rare black bird had been named after Ignis's favorite coffee, and its telltale coloring.
"Strong as ever, and still popular as ever with the young'uns,"
"You have a bird small enough for a five year old to ride? I think Rosa's old enough now for her first riding lesson," he inquired.
"Hmm… well we do have a young bird, worth a shot," Noctis discussed lesson with Wiz while Lunafreya kept her daughter company,
"Look at how big this one is!" she chimed, reaching through the rail of the pen to pet its feathers.
"Gently now, if you pull on the feathers it'll bite," she remembered the warning Noctis gave her, mostly out of jest knowing the Oracle would never pull on the bird's feathers intentionally.
"Soft," she cooed, and giggled when the bird shook its head and let out a loud kweh.
"Do you have a favorite?" Lunafreya asked, though she knew the answer was the black bird Ebony, for which her toy was named, shorthand used due to her difficulty in pronouncing Ebony and deciding that Bonbon sounded cuter.
"What's your favorite?" Rosa asked her mother as she clumsily pet one of the large birds,
"That really pale one over there, the one that almost looks white," she answered, pointing towards a chocobo that was preening next to its water bowl.
"That one's pretty too!"
"Hey Rosa," Noctis's voice called, walking towards the paddock. "How'd you like to ride one?" he asked, and the young girl began to bounce in place,
"Can I really?" she asked, her excitement infectious as both her parents smiled down at her,
"You're big enough now to learn. Wiz is gonna get a special bird to help you learn," Noctis explained. Wiz had agreed to such a spontaneous lesson, rather than tell him to schedule one like any other customer, as a reward for all the help he and his friends had given the post during their quest for the royal arms and covenants. He also suspected it was in large part because Wiz did not want to say no to his King. Normally disliking special treatment, he forced feelings of guilt aside and convinced himself to take Wiz's words at face value. Besides, the excited look on Rosa's face was worth it.
"Here y'ar Highness," Wiz called, leading a small chocobo by his bridle. Rosa ran up to the bird, startling it and it gave a distressed Kweh.
"Rosa! Careful, be gentle," Noctis instructed, watching Wiz calm the bird.
"Can't run up to 'em like that," the man instructed patiently, shushing the young chocobo until it settled. "Walk up slow, they like to kick when scared and you won't like that," he warned.
"Don't pull feathers… don't run up. Okay!" Rosa recited, and asked if she could pet the bird. With the affirmative she moved intentionally slow, and carefully pet the now calmed bird. "How do you get up?" she asked,
"Here, let me help ya. When yer a bit taller, you climb onto their back," Wiz lifted the girl onto the bird, explaining to her where to put her feet, where to shift her weight, and how to hold the bird's reigns. Wiz asked the royal couple if he could lead her towards the clearing to resume the lesson in a larger area, getting the affirmative.
"She's loving this," Lunafreya smiled, looking over to Noctis. He came up to her, sliding an arm around her waist. "How were you able to get away from the Citadel so spontaneously?" she asked, though her question was far from a complaint.
"I just decided a day out with my family was worth any lecture Ignis will have for me when we get home. Besides, with the trade negotiations with Accordio yesterday Ignis had made sure to keep my schedule clear of major meetings today in case I got stuck there overnight," he left out the part about how it would have been far safer to do so, than to insist on driving his ship cross the sea in the dead of night.
"Luckily you made it home, though you were late," she replied. The words stung, but her tone lacked an accusatory tone; he felt guilty nonetheless.
"I'm sorry I got home so late," he frowned, tightening the grip he had around her waist.
"You didn't plan on it," she replied in her same even tone.
"I promised Rosa a bedtime story…"
"I think she'll forgive you," his wife chuckled, hearing their daughter giggle with delight as the bird she was riding was led around a cleared paddock in a trot.
"My father was always so busy when I was a kid…" He answered, remembering the long lonely nights. This caused Lunafreya to turn to him, sliding her hands to either side of his face,
"You are a very devoted father Noct. You're King, occasionally Lucis will pull you away from us," she told him, and tried to kiss away his frown, "and look how you responded to it. You made time for Rosa to make up for it. She's not a lonely child. How many times has Ignis threatened to skin you alive for shirking duty to spend a night with us?" she asked, finally getting a grin,
"I just want her to never feel as alone as I did when I was a kid… except for all that time we were in Tenebrae,"
"Even those days where Lucis pulls you away, remember Rosa still has me. You didn't have your mother to turn to," She offered sympathetically. His smile returned, and he kissed her cheek,
"Don't know what I'd do without you," he replied,
"Love you to," she smiled back at him before the couple walked over to the clearing to watch their daughter's first chocobo lesson. "You know, I don't think she's going to let this be a one-off. You may have to learn how to listen to endless are we there yets for regular lessons," Luna observed, watching how enthralled their daughter was with her riding lesson.
"I've opened a can of worms," he agreed. "It's hard to get away from the Citadel all day like this though. And I'll probably be hearing about it for weeks,"
"What about Prompto? He loves chocobos, and he loves Rosa. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to take her here for regular lessons. And Rosa loves her Uncle Prompto,"
"I just wish-"
"You're King of all Lucis Noct," she cut him off. "After the worst period of time this country has seen in a millennium. You make plenty of time for your family," she assured him. "But Lucis needs you too. I knew this when I agreed to marry you."
"I just hope Rosa grows up to be as understanding as you," he put on a smile, wanting to believe her words. "I just… I don't want her to grow up lonely and eventually resent me. I moved out of the Citadel as a teen because I just couldn't take it anymore. What if she does the same?"
"Stop worrying about what-ifs," she answered. Before she could continue she winced, rubbing the top of her stomach,
"You okay?" Noctis asked her, brow furrowed with concern,
"I'm fine, little one is just kicking me," she answered, grabbing his hand to place it over her stomach, "here," she held his hand in place over where she was feeling the kicks, and knew he could feel it when the man's face broke into a broad smile,
"They usually stop every time I try to feel," he explained, eyes meeting hers. The expression lighting his features made her grin, and they stood together for a few more moments while Noctis felt his second child's kicks.
"If only they would pick a different target than this specific rib," she complained, gesturing to the child's favorite spot to tuck their foot. "first Rosa, now this little one. What is it about this rib?" she complained, rubbing the offending spot. Noctis chuckled at her, leaning over to kiss her cheek,
"You'll get through it," he assured her, remembering the trouble she had with said rib with Rosa.
"Mommy look!" The child called from across the pen, as the small chocobo ran around the paddock at a fast trot, the girl bouncing up and down with the movement giggling madly.
"You're doing great honey!" Lunafreya called, waving to her daughter. "She must get it from you. I was aweful at riding," she admitted, a flush coating her cheeks. She was one of the more agile of their group, yet riding a chocobo stubbornly escaped her skillset.
"My dad used to take me here as a kid," He truly wished Regis could have met Rosa, could have spent more time getting to know Luna outside of a coming crisis. He wished his father could have known true peace. He forced the dark thoughts away, trying to follow Lunafreya's advice to live in the here and now.
Wiz suggested a break shortly after noon for everyone to eat lunch. Rosa didn't want to end her lessons, but agreed to it after Wiz suggested that the chocobo would like a break to eat lunch too. The afternoon sun was warm, the royals having removed their jackets after sitting at a nice shaded table to order lunch. Rosa ate her lunch with frequent reminders to eat between excited statements about how the chocobo ran, or would kweh, responding to the directions she gave it as taught by Wiz. Parents atisfied that their daughter had eaten enough, and Wiz satisified the chocobo was adequately rested, the day resumed.
The sun was nearly set by the time Rosa's first lesson was over. The girl was exhausted and sore when she ran up to her parents, begging them to take her here again for more lessons.
"What if Uncle Prompto takes you?" her mother answered, before Noctis would feel caught between guilt and obligation.
"Uncle Prommo!" she answered, struggling to pronounce the name properly. Reminded Noctis of his inability to pronounce 'Lunafreya' as a kid. Noctis thanked Wiz heartily for the lesson, and asked if it would be possible for Rosa to receive lessons on a weekly basis. The man said he would be more than happy to turn the Princess of Lucis into the best chocobo rider Insomnia has ever seen.
"Prompto will probably challenge that," Noctis chuckled. "Maybe one day the two will go neck-and-neck at one of those chocobo races," He joked; yhough in truth he wanted to keep her far away from those races. At least until she was big enough where falling off one of the birds would just mean one hell of a sore week rather than months in a hospital bed.
"With her under my wing, she'll give all those jockeys a run for their money!" Wiz proclaimed proudly. He refused Noctis's attempt to hand him a couple hundred gil for the lesson, insisting that if he kept true to his word and the girl returned for regular lessons then the first one was free.
The small family walked back towards the car, Rosa running circles around her parents leaving them wondering how after so much riding she still retained so much energy. But their question was sufficiently answered when, after fighting to get her into her car seat, Bonbon safely tucked in her arms, the child was asleep with minutes of the car rolling into motion.
"I just hope Prompto is okay with us volunteering him to be her chauffer to and from Wiz's" Noctis kept his voice quiet. He held no such concern, knowing the man would leap at the opportunity to spend more time with this psudo-niece and ride chocobos. Lunafreya's response was echoing his thoughts.
"We'll have to figure out which car to let him take. No way Ignis would allow him to drive the Regalia-two, he's still mourning the wreck of the original.
"The poor girl. Went out in style," he commented.
"A bold sacrifice for the team,"
"She shall never be forgotten," The couple joked. They talked more about the logistics of Prompto getting Rosa to Wiz's, and how to work around Ignis's fear of anyone but him driving around a member of the royal family.
"If she'll be traveling without you, we'll have to find her a shield. Speaking of… how did you get away without Gladiolus following us?" Lunafreya inquired, brows furrowed.
"Oh. Uh… I may not have told him," Noctis admitted.
"Noct…"
"It wasn't on purpose! Just kinda… forgot. I was a little preoccupied wanting a family day. Besides, why didn't you think of it?" he shot back at her. She opened her mouth to answer, then clamped it shut glaring at him for turning his turning her question against her. "Don't worry he'll beat my ass in a sparring match to make up for it when he finds out I left the Citadel without him. And I'm sure he'll have a good recommendation for a shield for Rosa, and you too now that I think about it. Why have I never had him assign you your own shield?"
"Because Gladio is my shield as much as he is yours," she answered.
"Fair enough," he answered. "Rosa's too. But I think it's time we get her her own,"
They spent the long car ride home talking about Rosa's growing interest in hobbies. Noctis told her about how she wanted to bake a pie like in the story she was read, how much she loved her chocobo lesson. How much she enjoyed drawing in school. She wasn't taking quite as fondly to Gladiolus's self-defense lessons, and didn't find nature as exciting as her mother did, always complaining she was bored whenever Lunafreya tried to bring her to the gardens.
It was dark when they pulled up to the front of the citadel, the staff taking the Regalia to its usual parking spot. Fussing her out of the car seemed to wake Rosa up with newfound energy, the girl back to her usual exuberant self.
"What would you like for dinner?" Noctis asked,
"Pancakes!"
"We had those for breakfast,"
"Breakfast for dinner," she insisted.
"No, pick something different. How about cocatrice?"
"Pancakes!"
"Burger?"
"Soup?"
"Pancakes!"
"How about pasta?"
"Pancakes!"
"We had those for breakfast!"
"I want pancakes," Rosa insisted, and Lunafreya struggled not to laugh, which would only encourage their stubborn child.
"By the Six I hate food jags," Noctis complained, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to offer you three choices, pancakes won't be one of them. You pick one of the three, or I pick for you," Noctis offered, but Rosa only pouted and put her hands on her hips. The expression on her face was eerily similar to the angry looks his wife would give him whenever he did something stupid.
"Pancakes."
"We can have soup, pasta, or sandwiches,"
"2 pancakes with berries in between is a sammich!" Rosa countered, a wide grin on her face.
"She got you there Noct," Lunafreya finally allowed herself to laugh,
"Outwitted by a five year old…" he complained, "well… I guess a deal is a deal. But you better eat all the fruit on your plate," The girl pouted again, but skipped away from her parent rather than continue the argument, clearly bored of fighting over food.
"Well, she sure got you,"
"Oh, you laugh now. Next time she has you on the ropes, I'm siding with her," Noctis pouted, jutting out his bottom lip in mock-offense.
"Come now," Lunafreya pouted back. "If you jut your lip like that makes it impossible to kiss you," she teased. This turned his pout into a smile, and he gave her little time to react as he wrapped his arms around her to kiss her with surprising passion. It lasted far longer than she had expected, and her cheeks burned when they finally broke apart. "What was that for?"
"Do I need a reason?" he quipped back.
"Hmm… good answer," she smiled.
True to their bargain Rosa ate all the fruit that was given to her for her pancake "sandwich", much to her parents relief there was no fight involved to get her to eat and it was worth the tradeoff to let her eat her beloved pancakes for two meals in one day. After dinner the couple sat outside while Rosa burned off the last of her energy before being told to take a bath and get ready for bed,
"I don't need a bath," Rosa tried to pout. Is she going to fight me on everything today? Noctis sighed internally.
"You smell like chocobos," he answered her with a teasing grin, "go take a bath,"
"I like chocobo smell!"
"Chocobos should smell like that, little girls-"
"I'm a big girl daddy!"
"Big girls should smell like big girls. Go get your bath toys and take a bath," He worried for a moment she was going to continue to fight him, but after several moments she finally ran off towards her room, reappearing shortly later with her bucket filled with plastic toys. Lunafreya was looking exhausted from their long day so Noctis told her he would take care of bath time if she wanted to retire to their room. She took his offer with argument while Noctis prepared a bath for Rosa. It was a second argument to get the child into the water,
"Take a bath and daddy will read you whatever bedtime story you want," he tried to bribe her,
"You said you would read me a story last night," she shot back at him, bringing back all the guilt he had manage to erase throughout the day.
"I'm home this time," he offered, "now get in the bath and we can go pick out a book," She almost looked ready to argue again, but instead got into the bath, dumping out her bucket of toys into the water. "You gonna let Daddy wash your hair this time?" he asked. The last several baths the girl had refused, saying she only wanted Momma to wash her hair. And true to his fears, she made the same insistence again. Noctis heaved a heavy sigh, and shouted for Lunafreya.
"Everything alright?" she asked, joining them in the bathroom a few moments later,
"Sorry didn't mean to scare you. She only wants you to wash her hair," he explained, feeling bad he had told her to go relax only to bother her again a few minutes later.
"I have this under control. Go shower, you smell like the ranch," Lunafreya replied, Rosa giggling that her father also smelled like chocobos. Noctis showered like instructed, enjoying the hot water to soothe his aching muscles. When he got out of the shower Lunafreya was sitting on the bed, Rosa in her lap, the child holding a book in her hands,
"Was I in there that long?" he asked, toweling off his hair thanking the six he had brought his sleepwear into the bathroom with him rather than dressing in the bedroom.
"Well, at least I know you'll be nice and clean before you get into this bed," his wife teased, and he narrowed his eyes at her,
"And what, pray tell, makes you think that you smell fine? You were at that ranch too and didn't shower yet," he quipped to her, getting a shrug in return and she pat the bed beside her,
"Story first, then I'll shower. Fair?"
"What story did you pick Rosa?" Noctis asked, hopping onto the bed beside the Queen, his little Princess scooching off her mother's lap to sit in her father's, pushing the book at him,
"Mister Bear!" she exclaimed excitedly,
"Didn't Momma just read this to you last night?" he asked,
"Yeah. But you do the voices better," Noctis laughed, and opened the book to the first page, using his best deep booming voice for Mister Bear,
"Today I wish to bake a pie,"