When Luna is 24, she puts on a gorgeous wedding dress, and feels bad for Noctis, who is in the next room, playing with the collar of the crisp suit he's obliged to wear. Luna had always prefered free-flowing dresses and skirts to trousers and pants, and Luna-As-Noctis can only enjoy it when alone or with Ignis, Prompto and… Gladio.
Gladio.
Just the thought of her bodyguard brings a blush and a smile to Luna's face- and she grins even wider when she contemplates how she and Noct are going to reveal to the others that they are one and the same.
It had been an odd experience, as children, to finally meet face to face- but with the span of over a decade and puberty between that last meeting, Luna and Luna-as-Noctis find it very hard to concentrate fully when in the same room as each other; Luna had nearly stumbled when she caught sight of Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio in person, when Noctis's party had arrived on the docks, and she had very nearly greeted them all with her lucian voice.
A moment of eye-contact, a moment of oh no this isn't going to work and Luna and Noctis had quickly made their excuses to part company within seconds of Luna's obliged greetings.
Luna-as-Noctis had watched as his friends exchanged mystified glances at the Oracle's odd reaction, Prompto looking particularly disappointed, and then they had hurried on to the hotel to prepare for the rehearsal. If their wedding was going to be a symbol of peace, and if they wanted to stay out from under Niflheim's thumb, they needed to get the wedding over and done with quickly.
Luna finishes putting the final touches on her hair, and puts her earings on, careful not to snag them in her hair. Luna-as-Noctis does the same, though his are smaller and darker than her bright, sparkling diamonds.
Ignis comes to fetch her, and she can only smile brightly at him as Gladio comes for Noctis and his breath unwillingly catches at the sight of Noct, dressed in his wedding attire, standing tall and proud in front of the mirror as he turns to look at Gladio.
Gladio's eyes are laser-focused on Noctis' face, and Luna wishes that they could reveal it right then and there, that she could turn out of Ignis' hold and rush into the room and glomp Gladio, but she knows that if they reveal everything now, then the guys will not be able to make it through the rehearsal or the wedding with straight faces and dignity, and she most certainly doesn't want to do it in such a crowded place as the hotel.
So instead Noctis silently takes Gladio's hand, places a chaste kiss on it, and leads Gladio out of the room, following the path that Ignis is carving for Luna through the corridors, and Gladio is obviously too dazed and upset at his boyfriend's impending marriage to question how he knows the way.
Luna and Noctis make their separate way through the crowded corridors, and finally arrive at the grand ballroom set up for the occasion, Ignis and Luna arriving only a minute or so before Noctis and Gladio.
Luna sees Ignis shoot Gladio and Noctis a sad, pitying look, and can only imagine what he thinks happened before the two arrived.
Noctis is forced to part ways with Gladio then, as the organizer quickly shuffles everyone back and forth, making them recite lines and practice walking; Luna is sad that King Regis-Dad, Father is not here to walk her down the aisle, but concedes it's probably for the best as he stood the most chance of recognizing Luna if he were here, and would surely die of laughter when Noct and Luna do reveal the truth to him upon their return.
"Hey dad," Luna would greet, casual Lucian accent in full swing,
"You shall never believe what we are about to reveal to you," Noctis would continue, her Tenebrae accent and Oracle Formality™ underlying every word.
Both Luna and Noctis burst into giggles simultaneously from across the room from each other, and the confused looks on everyone around them only makes it worse.
Noctis manages to contain himself first, but Luna is plagued by random giggles at the mental image for the rest of the rehearsal. She is shot pitying glances from her arranged bridesmaids, and can only guess they think she is nervous to be marrying a Prince she has not seen since childhood.
Somehow, they make it through the rehearsal without any further incidents, and when they retire for the night, they are quick to sneak away from their friends or guards, and find the room set away for the next night, their honeymoon, and they simply fall into bed side-by-side, fully clothed, and just close their eyes.
If it was dizzying to see each other face to face again, it was blissful to sleep side-by-side, eyes closed, not having to focus for sounds or voices from two different sets of ears, not having to split their attention between two different surroundings or shades of light. They fall easily into slumber, and when morning comes, they wake together, in sync, a feeling so peaceful, they cannot wait to experience it with Gladio at their side.
Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio are already at breakfast when they arrive together, and they see Ignis' brow furrow even as Gladio's face darkens at the sight of them together.
Noctis greets the others as though he had not vanished the night before, and Luna makes her way to the buffet table that holds a wide assortment of breakfast foods, an impressive collection of Lucian, Accordian, and Tenebraen styles. Taking a plate, she daintily fills it with her favorite Lucian staples, things she has never had the pleasure of tasting with her own tongue, and then, spying a basketful of Tenebraen Delights, she fills a plate with the pastries and places it in the center of Noctis' table.
"I believe it has been many years since you have had the chance to try one of these, dearest Noctis, perhaps your companions would like to try a taste of one of my homelands' delicacies?" She inquires, smiling when Prompto's posture shoots up straight in his nervousness, and when Ignis gives her a very formal thanks for her offering.
Gladio is clearly struggling to remain composed in the face of her friendliness and the ease with which she interacts with Noctis, and the both she and Noctis share a moment of insanity, where she wants nothing more than to sit down at the table with them and eat and converse with as much ease as she has her entire life as Noctis.
Instead, they fight to compose themselves as Luna walks away, to be surrounded by her admirers and bodyguards and all of the people who want to wish her well on her wedding.
One more day. Luna promises herself, sitting across the room from the love of her life, as his heart is breaking.
One more day. Noctis promises himself, sitting across from his boyfriend, watching as Gladio's eyes are shaded with suspicion and betrayal and resignation.
One more day, They promise.
The wedding went off without a hitch.
No one missed their lines, no one objected, no one tried to poison or assassinate anyone.
No one noticed Noctis or Luna behaving oddly alike, any mannerisms traded in the whirl of the moment.
Now, Noctis is spinning Luna across the dance floor, and both of their hands clench upon a beautiful dress and a beautiful suit and wish that Gladio was the one they were whirling with, wish the man who towered over them and protected them and loved them was the one that they cut the cake with, wished it was Gladio that sat at the center of the table with them and greeted well-wishers with.
The rings on their fingers burn, and they wish they had a third to match.
Their friends come to congratulate them, one by one, and Noctis and Luna are warmed by the genuine happiness they see reflected in their friends eyes, because Noctis and Luna have done nothing but grin broadly all night, the anticipation of finally revealing the truth to their best friends is approaching, they just have to wait for the perfect moment.
Noctis' friends mistake it for happiness at the wedding, and though the confusion and uncertainty is still there, it has been a long time since they have seen Noctis smile, too caught up in anxiety over the Treaty and the King's health, and they are happy to see him happy, even if they don't quite understand.
Gladio is the last one to approach, as the night draws to a close, as Noctis and Luna are being encouraged to make their "escape", the amused, smiling faces around them goading them to leave the party behind and continue it behind closed doors. One memorable woman even waggles her eyebrows at the two as she says it.
It is a struggle to contain the sniggers that want to leave them, but they continue to wait, holding off their disappearance until Gladio comes to them. It goes on so long that some guests and reporters are even starting to trickle out, and the two fear that Gladio will continue to skulk at the edges of the hall.
Finally, just as Luna and Noctis have decided to seek him out themselves, he appears in front of them, suddenly, as if he had always been there.
He looks stunning in his suit, his hair has been combed and tamed back into a ponytail, and it is all they can do not to grab his hands, one for each of them, and drag him away into the night.
"Noct," He says, "Noctis. I… I can see that you are happy. Lady Lunafreya, you take care of him. It has been an honor to serve as your Shield, Noctis, and I hope you will allow me to continue in my duties, to guard you and your beautiful wife and future Queen." Gladio is standing, arms deliberately relaxed at his sides, as his hazel eyes observe the two of them.
Luna's heart is thundering so loudly in her chest, she is surprised that Gladio cannot hear it. He thinks she's beautiful? Butterflies flutter in her stomach, and beside her Noctis grins broadly as he claps Gladio on the shoulder, and then pulls him in for a hug, laughing as Gladio has to bend down slightly to reciprocate, and Luna is blushing furiously in the background, clutching at the blue gem of her necklace as she fights to regain control of herself while Gladio is being distracted by Noct.
"I am happy, Gladio. I can't wait," (to tell you) "I can't wait for you to be our Shield, you're going to love Luna, she already loves you." Luna-as-Noct utters the words she cannot speak, not yet, and to avoid Gladio's uncertain gaze she turns her face towards the exit and takes hold of Noctis' hand, feeling the connection the three of them share for an instant, the three of them joined hand to hand, before Gladio releases his hold on Noctis, and the moment is over.
"We should go, Noct." She says, then to Gladio, "You should all get some sleep, you have had a harrowing week, what with the travel and all, you must be exhausted." She lets a small smile cross her face, and then she and Noctis are fleeing the room, and they're both clutching each other's hands as they walk rapidly to the room reserved for their honeymoon. Servants and guards alike give them knowing looks as they walk, but no one is around to see Noctis not carry Luna into the room bridal-style.
There are no daemons lurking over the threshold, and they wish only for Gladio to be the one to carry them into a new home, and new life, a new love.
They wait awhile, at least an hour.
In the meanwhile, they shed the most cumbersome parts of their attire, and though Luna would have loved to greet Gladio in her wedding dress, there will be time for that later. They both change into Noctis' more comfortable clothes, and it is odd for Luna to look in the mirror and see a black cotton shirt highlighting her blond hair, which spills over her shoulders, undone from it's fancy braid.
Noctis steps up beside her, and together they regard themselves in the mirror.
They are different heights, different ages, but oh, how they are one and the same.
Their blue eyes sparkle the same at the thought of their friends, their lips form the same, contented smiles at the peace which surrounds them.
It has been so long that they have had to keep watch for the differences between their separate lives, had to see from two pairs of eyes, two sets of ears, two bodies experiencing different stimuli.
It still takes their breath away, how easy it is to be together.
They can laugh, they can cry, they can walk, they can run, they can play together as they could not as children, when Noctis was bound to his wheelchair and they were still trying to grasp the situation of their lives.
They stand, and they stare at the mirror, and they see themselves both clad in soft black cotton shirts and sweatpants, and they see one soul, in two bodies.
One heart, one love.
Luna looks at Noctis, and Noctis looks at Luna, and as one, they smile, and the two of them leave the room, leaning against each other as they walk, taking the back passages that are empty this time of night, until they find the room where Noctis' friends are staying.
Noctis enters first, not knocking, and Luna smiles as she sees everyone through Noctis' eyes staring at him in confusion as he is greeted, but Noctis does not reply verbally, he just grins broadly as Luna walks in, and in her Noctis voice, says, "Hey guys! Man, I'm bushed, but I could really go for some King's Knight. I've never been able to get my hands on a smartphone in Tenebrae, but I made sure to bring one with me from Lucis." She says, slouching into the room and plopping down on one of the arm chairs across from Prompto, who squeeks in something akin to terror.
"Oh, come now, Prompto," Noctis says in his Luna voice, "Surely you are not still so anxious at the sight of such a pretty girl? And a married one at that, although I do wonder at the legality of it…"
Prompto is staring with wide, disbelieving eyes at Luna, who is sitting so casually close to him, while Ignis and Gladio are staring flabbergasted at Noctis.
"Yeah," Luna says in her Noctis voice, "I wonder what this counts as, exactly. Would it be like, incest or something?"
Prompto recoils in horror away from Luna, "Wait," he says, the first thing he has said since Noct and Luna started talking, "Wait, what do you mean, are you related?" Prompto's brow furrows, "Wait, are you like, cousins?"
Noctis and Luna share a look,
"If we are going by familial comparisons, then we are more like twins," Noctis says, moving forward as Luna sighs and pries herself off the couch.
Luna raises her eyebrow in something that is trademark Noct and says,"But c'mon guys, seriously, you haven't guessed it yet?" as Noctis reaches her side, and the two of them turn in perfect synchrony and look at Gladio with identical looks of beseeching love in their gazes.
"Did you not wonder why I did not protest the wedding?" They whisper, and their words are perfectly in sync, and oh, they have never known how easy it could be that they could speak the same words with two mouths, could look upon the same love with four eyes, and rest on four knees as they knelt on the same floor and with four hands, reach out to the two hands of their love and feel their warmth in their soul.
"Noct…?" Gladio's eyes are wide, as he stares at Noctis and Luna, and Luna and Noctis smile so brightly that their faces begin to hurt, but it is a good pain as realization dawns in Gladio's eyes, in Ignis' eyes, in Prompto's eyes.
They had known, since the beginning of the journey, that Noctis had a second life.
They just probably weren't expecting him to be married to himself.
"Luna..? Noct…?" Prompto is whispering, staring from one to the other, "Are you…?"
"Yes." It's not quite the question they want it to be the answer to, on the night of their wedding, but they will take what they can get.
"You're…?" Gladio is asking, staring down at the two sets of hand that are grasping his own. He flips his palms over, and runs his thumb over their knuckles. One set is scarred and calloused, one set is pale and thin, with delicately trimmed nails.
So different in appearance, but they both burn with a familiar warmth, and when he looks up into two sets of blue eyes, they both burn with a familiar intensity and identical grins on mouths that are shaped so different but so much the same.
"We are." Noctis and Lunafreya say, and then they are embracing Gladio, and they are pulling Ignis in, and then Prompto is there, and they are crying, tears of joy, because Luna has never experienced such friendship since Niflheim invaded, and she has waited her whole life to be able to meet them, and oh, she is so, so happy.
They embrace for the longest time, Noct and Luna crying, the others (mostly Gladio, in relief, and Prompto, because he cries easily and isn't ashamed of it) joining in, until Ignis is the only one not wracked with sobs, but his eyes are suspiciously shiny still.
After all, they had already heard the tale of Regis and the bartender, and Weskham. Of how Cid and Cor and Clarus and Weskham only known of Regis' other self when he had already died, when he was already dead and gone, when Regis was broken and crying like a child.
But they're meeting Luna now, they know the truth.
Eventually, the group hug separates, and then Prompto and Gladio and Ignis are asking them question after question, Ignis fascinated, Prompto excited beyond measure, and Gladio soft and curious and relieved.
When Luna is 24, and Noctis is 20, they stay awake, talking, and laughing, for hours, and hours and hours.
And they had all the time in the world.