An attempt at Normality…
When you're the supposed "Chosen King of Light", the definition of "normal" becomes blurred.
Normal young men are either: following their dreams and working their potential careers to fruition, or they're currently in college to further advance their skills or heck even develop some new ones.
For Noctis…he wasn't sure if he fitted in what society considered normal.
He didn't know anyone else who could warp from place to place by throwing a magical sword, draw elements from spiky rocks, fight monsters on regular bases, or recently, fight against the goddess of the sea with nothing but the magical weapons he obtained during his adventures while his fiancé carried his family ring and use her powers to draw out the goddess.
So yes, he was not "normal". But he believes outside of his own life, he did normal things, like fishing. Drive an expensive and godlike car, go on road trips with his brothers and camp with them.
Now though, he was gonna add another activity of normal to his list, and hoped to the Astrals he wouldn't screw this up.
He was going to ask Luna, his fiancé and the Oracle, out for a date.
May the Astrals have mercy on him and Luna…
*Galdin Quay, six days after Altissia*
'You had…one job', Gladiolus growled, dragging his feet along the path.
'I said sorry!', whined Prompto, sluggish walking behind the trio of near-dead men, almost ready to collapse.
' "Sorry" doesn't fix cars', commented Ignis, looking slightly more lively than the others.
'Iggy, if I ever suggest Prompto touching any vehicle in the future, you have every right to slap me', Noctis groaned.
'Duly noted, Noct'.
A simple hunting mission it was supposed to be, but like their luck with the weather (or Prompto's luck with women) it turned sour. The hunt took them further out of their planned route, and it also didn't help that the beast only seemed to come out at near dawn…which means waiting around for nightfall and with nightfall, came daemons.
Sadly, during the scuffle between the daemons and the wild beast, which was just a large familiar of cactuars, Iggy was hit by several needles. One large needle pierced a bone in his arm and one in his shoulder which rendered him incapable of driving the Regalia, which forced Prompto into the wheel by Noctis' suggestion.
The prince couldn't drive since he was busying himself in the car using his crossbow to pick off daemons chasing them, and Gladiolus didn't have time since he was the one carrying the wounded Ignis.
Sure granted, Prompto did his job and got them out of the hot zone and into a zone NOT populated by daemons… but during his celebration of living for another day to win Cindy's heart, he, for WHATEVER reason, took his eyes off the front.
And the Regalia paid for his carelessness. In the form of a boulder, which was minding its own business until Prompto wanted the car to get to know the boulder…
Unfortunately, while ordinarily the four would just ring Cindy and explain the situation, she'd come, give them a lecture about mistreating a beauty of a car but tow it none the less. But their phones were not able to receive a signal, which meant leaving the Regalia on its own, which wasn't going to happen. So they pushed the car, all the way from the Balouve mines (the cactuars were closer to that spot) back to the Galdin Quay.
'How was I supposed to know there was a boulder there!?', Prompto argued.
'A boulder in an open plain of sand and rock!? Shit, who knew!?', Gladiolus growled, running a hand through his hair.
'Enough, please', Ignis pleaded, far too tired for this argument. 'Let us just return to our rooms and rest'.
Noctis hummed in agreement as they walked along the wooden pathway, exhaustion was clear and the idea of collapsing on a bed was enough for him to resist collapsing on the ground and just sleeping there. However, as the four arrived to the restaurant, they spotted several members of the media all over the restaurant. They all stopped at the entrance, exhaustion gone and replaced with concern for a certain young woman who may or may not be staying at the Quay for a while.
'That can't be good', Prompto voiced, looking at the amount of cameras and microphones.
Noctis immediately pulled his phone out and scrolled through his contacts to find Lunafreya's number and quickly sent her a text.
Noctis: "You hiding in your room?".
He got a response in less than a minute.
Moon Princess (Prompto set up her phone): "We were…until Ravus and I found an exit".
Noctis: "How?".
Moon Princess: "Let's just say I'm thankful I remember my swimming lessons. We're currently at the Haven on the beach. Meet us there".
He gave her a quick text in response but before he could do anything else, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he sees Gladiolus quickly yanking his phone out of his hand.
'Is that prince Noctis?', a voice called.
Before Noctis could turn to identify the voice, he was suddenly grabbed by his Shield.
'I'm sorry but at the same time, I'm not', he said.
The smile on his face strongly implied he wasn't gonna be sorry…
Next thing the prince of Lucis knew, he was tossed off the walkway and into the ocean, his yelp of surprise barely making out of his mouth. His world was suddenly covered in water and bubbles, a school of teeny tiny fishes swimming away in surprise.
He resurfaced quickly, gasping for air. He snapped his head upwards to see his friends casually leaning against the railing of the walkway, denying seeing the prince and just chucking it up to someone who looked like him.
As appreciative as the prince was that his friends managed to keep him incognito, the prince was slightly furious that all three of them just acted as if his Shield threw him off the walkway like an unwanted party crasher.
Noctis sighed, vengeance shall come later, he needed to swim to Luna and see how she was doing. Swimming was thankfully part of Gladiolus' training, so the prince had no worries of losing to the lazy waters and truth be told he enjoyed it when he could take a quick dip into the waters. Swimming underneath the water was challenging but he could do it until he was out of sight of the restaurant's prying eyes.
Noctis reached the shoreline just near the fishing shack, shaking himself to rid the lingering waters. He immediately felt the sticky suction of his clothes and a sensation of revolution to the feel. He wasted no time to remove his boots and socks (second worst thing to wear wet), his jacket and finally t-shirt. Feeling the heat of the sun against his bare skin felt nice in comparison to the sticky clothes.
Noctis carried his gear to the Haven, seeing one of Gladiolus' tents already set up along with the chairs. Ravus, a towel around his shoulders, was finishing the setup of chairs, Luna probably told him Noctis and company were close to arriving. The Oracle was nowhere in sight, likely hiding out in the tent to avoid anymore unwanted attention from the press.
Upon seeing the raven prince, Ravus raised a brow at his appearance. Noctis looked at himself and then back to his…acquaintance.
'Decided to take a dip into the water?', he asked.
'Not by choice. Gladio took a page out your book and threw me in the water to avoid the presses', groaned Noctis, dropping his soggy pile of clothes by the edge of the Haven.
'It worked…not without ramifications', Ravus agreed, drying his hair furiously.
'Brother? Have you seen my spare robe?'.
Both men turned to the voice, spotting the Oracle just exiting the tent. 'I thought I left it in the travel canvas Gladiolus gave me', she said, confused and tiredly.
Noctis just stood there on the spot, like a statue, unable to tear his gaze away from his fiancé's form. Or rather, her choice in clothing. It would seem she was in the middle of getting changed from their unplanned swim, as she wore nothing but her pure white panties and bra, hair untied and still drying, bits of it stuck to her face.
Her eyes fell to Noctis, noticing he was half naked himself. Slowly she looked at herself, before her cheeks turned the colour matching a tomato. She let out a squeal and grabbed the flap of the tent. 'NOCTIS, TURN AROUND!', she ordered, her voice barely above a squeak of embarrassment. His own cheeks rosy, Noctis quickly turned around, slamming his palms to his eyes just for good measure. 'S-S-Sorry!', he yelled back.
Quickly the Oracle returned to her tent, zipping the entrance up in such speed it was impressive it didn't catch fire. Ravus just stood there in the middle, torn between being mortified his sister was caught in her smalls by her fiancé (it still made him gag at the thought) but also laughing as hard as his body was able to.
'Apologizes sister, I have not', he said, barely maintaining his composure. Just as well his sister retreated into the tent, his shaking shoulders would have been a dead giveaway.
The Oracle made a sound that rivalled a spooked kitten and refused to open the tent flaps, leaving her brother and future husband.
'I-Is she gone?', asked Noctis.
'She's retreated to the tent, you're less likely to be skewered now', Ravus assured.
Noctis let out a breath of relief and lowered his hands, turning back to Ravus, still sporting that smirk of his. Noctis gave the white-haired former commander a glare before he approached the edge of the Haven to use his Armiger to bring out his own set of clothes to change into.
'Where are the others?', Ravus inquired, placing the towel on his seat.
'Likely waiting for Cindy to show up and tell us the damage', Noctis said, plucking a towel from his magical storage and began to dry himself off.
'Did the blond cause the damage?'.
'Sure as hell wasn't Ignis or Gladio'.
Once the prince was changed into dry clothes, he turned to see Ravus looking at the tent. 'Luna, myself and Noctis are heading out to gather magic for the flasks', he announced.
"We are?" Noctis thought to himself, looking at his Armiger in confusion.
'Alright, be safe', Luna called out, her voice still shadowed by embarrassment.
Before the prince could correct Ravus' statement, he barely got a chance to even mumble an "Uh" before Ravus leapt off the Haven. 'Noctis, hurry up', he said.
Biting back a comment and quickly throwing on his pants, Noctis followed the former rival out of the Haven. However instead of going into the direction where the elemental veins usually remain, Ravus went the complete opposite direction of the source. Confusion growing, the prince reluctantly followed him.
Traveling down the sandy beach as the sun beamed down upon them, Noctis barely had time to stop himself from bumping into him. Ravus turned to him with a frown. 'I'm worried about Luna', he stated.
Immediately the prince gave him his full attention and looked at him with concern. Before his mouth opened the flood gates of concern for his fiancé, Ravus held his hand up to stop him
'I mean, she's tense and stressed', he explained.
Noctis folded his arms, understanding.
Even after the events of Altissia and with the empire behind them, Noctis knew she had little to no time to just take a breath and relax. They remained in Galdin Quay ever since they returned but they mostly stayed at the Haven for cost reasons and to remain hidden from the public. Sadly they had no food on the fifth day and decided to indulge in a rather fancy dinner…and paid the price in more ways than one.
The prince would often see Luna was still not used to being able to relax and not constantly look around for any unwanted imperials. Even being around his friends Noctis couldn't count the amount of times Luna would tense up or just looked so uneasy it was worrying.
'So, I believe she needs to do something just to take her mind off everything', Ravus said. 'Trouble is what…'.
As the man pondered, an idea formed in the future king's mind. An idea he had toyed with in the past, something he wanted to do with Luna from day one.
'A date!', he declared.
*Next Day*
Awakening from the sound of her phone vibrating beside her head, Luna almost felt like taking a page out of Noctis' book and shutting off the obnoxious piece of technology. She reframed however, instead she haphazardly searched for it blindly until her delicate finger touched the cool metallic machine.
Luna lifted her head up to see what she was doing, being still a little wet behind the ears when it came to using technology, just to switch off the alarm. Tiredly she swiped it to switch of the phone and once she was assured the noise was dead, she all but plummeted back onto her pillow.
Astrals forgive her, but she was just so tired. She thought once she was back in Noctis' company, away from the empire's iron grip she'd feel a sense of freedom and safety, yet she didn't. She couldn't help herself, feeling like she was being followed or watched by some spy of the empire.
Slowly she rolled onto her back, looking up into the endless darkness of the tent, blinking out the tiredness from her eyes as she slowly begun to sit up properly. She picked up her phone and began to dress herself up, likely attempting to avoid any repeats of yesterday.
Though she wasn't complaining about seeing her fiancé without any layer of upper clothing…
Exiting the tent with a small yawn and stretch, the Oracle was surprised to see only Noctis. The prince was currently sitting down, on his phone playing King's Knight from the frantic tapping he was doing. The Oracle blinked as she scoured the Haven, neither her brother nor Noctis' royal retinue in sight.
'Oh, morning Luna', greeted the prince. Immediately he switched off the game and pocketed his phone.
Standing up from his seat, the prince approached her. 'Where are the others?', she asked, smiling softly at Noctis. It was rather rare she and he were alone these days, especially when they returned to the mainland. Luna adored his friends and her brother, especially now that they were free from the empire, but she desperately wanted time just to be around her lover with no other soul among the two. Still she found the lack of numbers art the Haven surprising.
'Oh Iggy went off the Quay for some recipe comparisons, Gladio and Ravus took on a hunt, and I think Prompto went photo shooting', explained the prince. Noctis then scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, looking around for a moment. 'So…since we're alone, what do ya say we…go out?', he inquired.
Luna looked at him with a tilt of her head, before his words registered in her mind. 'A-As in, a date?', she asked, her cheeks taking the colour faded red. Noctis' own cheeks were against him, his own turning red. 'Y-yeah! I mean, if you're up for it…', he said, looking away shyly.
A date, something she's been wanting to do with Noctis, with no brother or empire to watch over them like vultures?
It took all her will not to squeal like a six-year-old.
'Yes, that would be wonderful!', she said with a smile.
Noctis swore he could hear his inner child jumping with joy. 'G-Great! Umm, so wanna take a walk on the beach?', he offered.
*Later*
Being out on the seaside while trying to maintain incognito certainly restricted the two's ideas for dates certainly, but they found themselves enjoying the peaceful walks on the beach. Luna wearing a summer dress while carrying her sandals in her hand, feet walking on the warm water. Noctis wore a simple grey t-shirt and a pair of grey shorts.
The day was a perfect blend of cool and warm, breeze welcomed every now and then, peace and quiet. A nice change in contrast to the past few days of hectic violence and supernatural events. The prince would occasionally peek at Luna, taking in the serenity she just seems to emit at will, no stress in her walks, eyes full of ease. Plus, she let her hair down for this event. Her usual tied up style was forgotten for a more causal (and FAR more beautiful) loose style, her hair resting beneath her shoulders.
'The breeze feels so nice', she commented.
'Yeah, very…breezy', Noctis agreed, scratching his cheek.
The Oracle gave him a cheeky smirk. 'I thought small talk for you would be… a "breeze", Noctis'.
The prince gave her a lock of horror at the pun, before groaning loudly. 'Stop spending time with Ignis, those puns are bad enough from one of us', he groaned.
Luna giggled softly, not remotely sorry for her lover's disdain for the puns. She turned to the water, watching it glistening with sun rays and spotted the occasional jumping fish in the great blue. Luna turned her gaze forward to a small pier just by the rocks, and an idea came to mind.
'Noctis, have you ever seen that pier?', she asked.
Following her gaze, the prince let out a "huh" sound. 'Never been down this path before, must've missed it', he mused. 'Then, now is a good time to finally show me how to fish!', Luna offered, smiling at the pier.
At said pier, Noctis immediately summoned his fishing rod and began to talk Luna threw the process of fishing. 'The trick is ya wanna try and tantalize the fish into taking the bait but not enough to get them suspicious', he explained. 'Stay patient, once ya feel a tug, get ready to reel it in!'.
Once Luna did the cast, she sat upon the pillar on the pier with Noctis on the opposite side of her. The line would occasional sway left and right but ultimately nothing was biting yet. 'So, how long do you usually wait?', she asked off-handily.
'Sometimes it depends on the time of day and weather, sometimes it'd be a few minutes or an hour max 'fore something bites', explained Noctis.
Suddenly, the line tugged, and the very moment Luna stood up, she was almost pulled into the water with a yelp. Noctis caught her by the waist with both hands, holding her just as her feet were stopping her from falling. 'Holy crap! Did you catch a shark or something!?', Noctis cried, barely managing to keep them on the pier.
'I doubt it! Sharks don't usually swim so close to shore, do they?', she asked innocently while reeling in the line. They could see furious splashes from the line, golden fins flopping madly. Luna turned the line in the direction of the fish, attempting to wear it out while Noctis was struggling to ensure the two royal couple didn't fall into the ocean. How Gladiolus made it look easy is beyond the prince.
'Noctis! I-I almost got him!', she cried, grinning.
'Don't let up! Show that fish who's the boss!', encouraged Noctis, pulling her closer to him. Unfortunately, when leaning too much to the right, the Oracle lost her foot and then the fish made a surprisingly powerful tug on the line, pulling both the of them into the ocean with a massive splash.
Quickly resurfacing back to the surface, the pair coughed up water and spluttered. Wiping the hair from his eyes, Noctis turned on the newbie fisher, seeing her drenched and pushing her soaked hair from her vision. Both were floating in the water, looking at the fishing pole floating along with them and they even spotted the fish swimming away, triumphantly ruining Luna's first fishing experience.
'…I hate fish', Luna commented with some spite in her tone, eyeing the fish.
Then, they both looked at each other, and then burst into laughter, the whole scenario utter hilarious. The Oracle and Chosen King foiled by aquatic life.
'I would be the laughing stock of Oracles if the people ever learn about this', Luna laughed, floating in the ocean.
'I'd say same…but I actually have a track record, so this easily stays as sixth dumbest thing I did', Noctis chuckled.
'W-What's the first?', Luna asked giggling.
'…Warping to the chandelier back home and being stuck for four hours…'.
And the entire beach was blessed by the Oracle's laughter for several minutes…
*Nightfall*
Returning to the camp, they were surprised to see no one had returned since their departure, but Noctis spotted a table and two chairs that looked suspiciously like the ones at the Quay…coincidence...?
But they also spotted two plates with trays over them along with a single bottle of red wine, Luna's favourite. Noctis found a small note in Ignis' hand writing, explaining what the dinner is and when they'll be back. He also noted there was more in the lower left corner in Gladiolus' writing.
Worry immediately clutched his heart and despite his better judgement, Noctis opened the note up and plucked out what Gladio left for him.
A condom…
'What did the note say?', Luna asked.
Quickly stuffing the condom in his pocket so fast he was surprised he didn't make a hole in it, he turned. 'Uh, dinner!', his face redder than Prompto when looking at Cindy. Luna giggled at his response and took her seat, smiling at the choice of delicacy Ignis gave them.
She poured herself and Noctis some wine and after she handed him his own, she lifted her glass. 'To a first wonderful date', she said, smiling. 'May we have more to compare'. 'And less "fishy" mishaps', Noctis concurred.
Luna gave him a dead pan look before she giggled. 'I deserve that', she conceited.
They clinked glasses together and ate their meals, both feeling a sense of satisfaction with their day and hoping for more like this in the future.
A/N:
…hi.
Okay so, I first want to apologize for the SUPER long silence and no updates for Dawn, I really am sorry. Life events, laptop was fried and had no time to work on stories so I apologize for those waiting and promise 2019 will be different.
Thanks for readying, have a fantastic day, Stay awesome but most importantly stay safe and have a great New Year!