Lull After the Storm
A/N: A take on one of several deleted scenes from my previous fic, 'The Tide', which contains a divergence in the actual storyline. Luna/Noctis fluff and sensuality warning.
The foliage on the ground cracked and groaned under her feet. Her surroundings were so overgrown that Luna had to move cautiously over the vegetation, taking time to map out the easiest path to take with every several steps she took. Stray drops of water spilled from the trees of the grove, moistening the pale crown of her head and her skin where it was exposed at her wrists and neckline.
At last she parted the thick brush to the clearing to where her husband stood on a dock at the lake. His back was facing her, giving her the view of his dark hair, matted to his head from the recent rain.
When the first drops of rain littered the ground hours before, Noctis had promised he'd return to camp right behind her. The camp's location was conveniently under a rather thick canopy of trees, a strategic spot resulting from Noctis's experiences of traveling with Gladio.
Luna returned there and waited, huddled in a hooded all-weather jacket that she'd brought along with her, knees drawn to her chest as she sat out the rain. The air in Lucis remained fairly warm even in rainfall, so she didn't require much cover.
When the rain ceased she removed the garment, and dressed only a light sweater, thick leggings and boots she made her way back.
"Ah. There you are." Her voice ran over to him, though feeble from the lingering remnant of a chill. He looked like he might've been freezing, with nothing covering him from the waist up but a grey short sleeved shirt that was darkened from the recent rainfall. There was little to no cover by the lake where he stood, casting his reel for what could've been the thousandth time that day.
"I'm sorry... I know you waited for me I just had a huge bite and it was taking forever."
Luna shook her head, stray bangs curling up towards the sky in the humidity.
"Where is it now?"
Noctis slumped his shoulders slightly- a sight she rarely saw nowadays from a newly coronated king. "I lost it."
She just smiled. Perhaps another woman would've been angry, or felt abandoned and frustrated. But after everything they'd endured- together and apart, she didn't have it in her heart to feel any resentment towards him, or at least not yet; she was too wise to expect that the day where she would curse his name would never come, but for now she could only be endeared by his expressive eyes and handsome features that had only become more so in his ten years of absence from the world.
"Let me try."
His eyebrows rose. "You want to?"
"Don't sound so surprised," She laughed, stepping beside him on the aging dock on which he stood. "I've been watching you this whole trip."
She watched his brow furrow in thought as he mulled it over. She really had seen more than her share of fishing this trip.
They had intended the trip to be a welfare check on the various settlements around the country recovering from the Starscourge. But every once in a while, Noctis would put the royal guard on standby in a town and disappear with her in the wilderness for a night on escapades such as this.
"Alright." He said hesitantly, reeling the bait back in for her, "But nothing's biting right now. I think the temperature dropped too quickly."
Luna took the rod as he offered it, and allowed him to step lightly behind her, showing her the proper grip and placement of her hand with his own. He pulled and pushed at her fingers to the proper grip with her forefinger extended to pinch the line against the rod. She relinquished control to him passively, allowing calloused fingertips caked in dark, fertile dirt to shape her own.
"Ready?" He spoke lowly into her ear and she fought back another smile, her eyes only looking hard and determined instead. The only sound around them was the cicadas of early evening and stray drops of water from the treetops. The air was thick with moisture and clung to the inside of her sweater heavily.
"Yes."
"Okay. Now, just flick your wrist, and let go of the line at the same time."
She complied, though she was let down by the sharpness of the angle of her wrist movement, causing the lure to drop directly into the water in front of her feet.
"It's okay." He said gently, motioning for her to crank the reel and try again, "I did that my first time too."
Luna calmly followed his instruction. She was no stranger to failure. She rotated her wrist in a slower motion on the second cast and improved her timing on the release of the line, causing the lure to land further out.
"That was a good one, Luna!" Noctis's voice full of genuine glee as he further guided her on how to jig the lure and slowly reel. The truth was she had the hang of it by the second cast and the first several minutes or so, but she rather enjoyed feeling the warmth of his body behind her, and his voice softly against her earlobe.
"You want to create commotion with the lure in the water," He told her, "But still give the fish the impression that their catch will be easy."
His long fingers were moving over hers, causing the hairs on her body to raise. It was entirely platonic in intention- but the heat in her cheeks made her react otherwise.
She caught a wide mouthed bass as the next round of raindrops began to fall.
"Nice!" Noctis exclaimed, seemingly clueless to the sudden change of weather.
The opening of the tent was unzipped, facing the dying fire. Luna straddled him on his lap as he cradled her on the tent floor, both breathing heavy, ragged breaths, deviating from their rhythm only for a stray kiss.
Noctis seized a handful of her flaxen hair and needily pulled it downward to where his other hand gripped her waist, supporting her by her backside. The motion caused her chin to thrust upwards, making her neck vulnerable to him.
She stiffened as he gathered the pulse at the base of her neck in his lips, eliciting a gasp from her as she was held contained in the only position he wanted for her in the moment: firmly between his arms, with only enough leeway to move against him. She did so with fervor, tilting her forehead to touch his as he released her hair, hooking an arm up from under her armpit instead, greedily leveraging her downward onto him by her shoulder blades.
They had a love that stemmed from childhood, observed by Shiva to be perhaps the purest of loves, marred by years of separation, war, and political dilemma. Their duties had changed by the light of the new dawn, and their need for one another remained constant.
"Nice one, Luna." Noctis had smiled over the bucket at her, as the wide mouthed bass swirled and swished frantically inside. They were both crouched down over it, opposite from one another. His sleeves were rolled up and he dipped them into the tiny pool to expertly grab the creature by both hands, securing its head in one and stabilizing the tail in the other.
Luna reached out a pale, thin fingers to softly brush against the blue-silvery scale. The fish's mouth gaped open and the gills fluttered frantically.
She retracted her hand. "Can you let him go?"
Noctis blinked back at her. "Don't you want to enjoy your first catch?"
"I don't know that I can." She replied softly, blue eyes earnestly meeting his.
Noctis looked to the fish for a moment, and back to her. She watched it suffocating, and the feeling caused her a familiar unease.
"Alright. We have food, anyway." He reassured her, and rose with the fish in his hands, briskly tossing it back into the lake.
When he kissed her later in the evening over dinner in the midst of the humidity she responded to him with the heat under her skin and the longing for his as her toes curled and her pupils dilated. He murmured her name against her lips.
"Luna."