A/N: Set during the Moogle Chocobo Carnival DLC, but with the whole gang instead of just Noct. The majority of it is just what I imagined the squad to do during the entire event. RxR if you enjoy it!

THE DAY WE'VE ALWAYS WANTED

The clamour of the crowd outside was raucous, and it reached Noctis' ears barely after the sun rose that morning. Groaning, he rolled over in his bed, slowly peeling an eye open to examine the bright red digits upon the alarm clock by his side.

6 AM.

With a long groan, he rolled back over and closed his eyes once more, burying his face in the thin linens of the hostel in which he had been staying. Unfortunately, no matter how much he meditated or attempted to lull himself back to sleep, the sounds of children's laughter and the community festivities remained in the forefront of his mind.

After half an hour, he sat upright at last, throwing his blankets off with bleary eyes and bitterness in his heart. I know it's supposed to be a few days a year, but do they have to start so damn early?

Sighing, he dragged a hand down his face and leaned back, examining the empty bed beside him. The sheets were ruffled, tossed aside carelessly. A few golden hairs, a camera case, and the crumpled futon were telltale signs of the other guest of the room. I guess he appeared last night, while I was sleeping, the king thought to himself, chuckling dryly. Of course Prompto would already be awake and kicking – by that point, he was likely lost among the throng of children chasing after golden feathers.

Guess I gotta go find him, and say hello. And with that, Noctis rocked onto his feet and headed to the washroom to get ready for the long, long day ahead.

By the time he had gotten dressed and ready to set out it was almost seven o'clock, and his growling stomach was not helping him any. Running downstairs, he grabbed a croissant from the free breakfast buffet offered by the owners, and headed out into the crowded streets.

Noctis had seen the beautiful city of Altissia in many states – filled with crowds, deserted on quiet nights, peaceful mornings with the locals strolling through, all the way to states of wreckage due to the Hydrean – but never had he seen the water city so full of life.

People filled the streets from end to end, all sporting various items of clothing carrying chocobo and moogle designs as they laughed and enjoyed delicious food from the market vendors nearby. Strung along the streets between the hanging boughs of blooming flowers, pennants were hung in multicoloured lines high above his head. Banners containing motifs of chocobos and moogles were hung everywhere, upon every single lamppost and every single door, making sure that no one was uninformed of the opulence which was blessing their city.

Makeshift pens had been set up along the sidewalks, where breeders displayed their most magnificent birds to the intrigued audiences, the chocobos puffing their breasts proudly as the crowds oohed and aahed over their shining plumage. The animals kwehed endlessly, their loving cries echoing into the crowd enthusiastically.

Figures in mascot costumes were surrounded by children on every corner, handing out balloons to their eager young friends. Not all the balloons rested in the hands of these children, however – as Noctis looked up into the sky, he saw hundreds of little balloons dotting the cloudless blue amidst the myriad of colourful confetti pieces which seemed to endlessly rain down upon him.

Even the water seemed to sparkle with an intensity he had never seen before, reflecting diamonds in every lap upon the docks, as if the sun above embodied the unadulterated joy the citizens felt. Of course they were excited – this was the Moogle Chocobo Carnival, a once-a-year event which always filled the city with an air of utter contentedness by the end of it.

No matter how many times he experienced it, he was always taken aback by just how marvelous the city was during this event.

And this time… we'll finally be together again.

"Excuse me, sir!" A voice cut through his thoughts, startling him from his amazed stupor. Spinning on his heel, he locked eyes with the speaker – a vendor, working the official Carnival Kiosk at the Port City Station where he stood. "Excuse me, sir, would you like to buy this year's Choco-Mog merchandise to brighten your carnival experience?"

And so it began, Noctis' least favourite part of the event: the insistence on wearing the carnival gear.

Every single year, he tried to escape being dressed in the lemon-yellow garbs and little moogle wings the ensembles always demanded, and every year, he found himself red-faced and uncomfortably sallow-looking in the garments the vendors managed to force upon him.

No, not this year. This year, I'm going to stand up to them. I'm going to stay strong. "No, it's okay," he declined, politely holding up a hand and bowing his head in a light apology. She opened her mouth to try and convince him otherwise, but Noctis already knew what she wanted. Quickly averting his eyes, he turned and faced away from the kiosk, ready to step into the throng of carnival-goers.

"Excuse me, mister, but do you not like the decorations?" a tiny voice asked.

The young man spun around, coming face to face with a little girl of no more than seven years old. Her pigtails bobbed as she stepped closer to Noctis, large hopeful brown eyes brimming with concern. In her hands was a bundle of helium-filled balloons bouncing in the air along with the hundreds of other similar ones held by the numerous children upon the street.

She pouted, grinding a toe into the cobblestone path sadly. "Do you not like chocobos?"

Seeing a little watery shine develop in those eyes, Noctis shook his head. "No, I love chocobos!" he insisted.

She wasn't convinced, looking up at him with her lower lip trembling. The sheer innocence in the image sank Noctis' stomach into a whole new world of guilt and regret. "Then… then do you not like moogles?"

Talk about being stuck between a chocobo and a hard place, he groaned internally, forcing himself to reach a hand into his pocket. Retrieving his wallet, he slapped the gil needed to purchase the offered carnival attire onto the counter. The woman working in the kiosk watched, bemused, as she placed a hat and t-shirt upon the countertop in exchange.

Putting on his kingliest smile, he unfolded the hat – a gruesome chocobo's visage on the front, whilst the back was the white and red depiction of a moogle – and slipped it onto his head before he replied, "No, I love moogles! I just wasn't sure if I had enough gil to get these… cool outfits…" He shook his head and put on his most cheerful voice before continuing, "but, I thought about it, and I think today's a special occasion!"

The girl immediately beamed back at him, missing teeth leaving gaps in her huge grin. Almost immediately, she pulled a balloon from her bundle – a little moogle one, the red ball upon its antenna slowly wagging in the wind – and placed it into Noctis' hand. "That's great, mister! Since you like moogles, you can have this one. See ya later!"

He waved and kept his smile plastered on for a few moments as she skipped away back to her parents, only allowing himself to shake his head in disbelief after she had disappeared from his sight.

"So… we do have a changing room in the back, if you'd like to slip into that," the clerk commented dryly, leaning her hand upon her propped up fist. "Wouldn't want to waste the chance to wear the t-shirt. It really suits the festivities."

"Ha, ha, ha," Noctis punctuated under his breath, turning on his heel back into the tiny lodge he had just exited a few moments before. "I'll just… change in my room, thank you very much."

"Suit yourself!" she called back good-naturedly, waving as he sulked his way back into his room.

Ten minutes later, and freshly dressed in the wonderful(-ly garish) attire for the carnival, he stepped back outside. It had taken him longer than anticipated to work up the courage to leave his bedroom. The lemon yellow was not particularly flattering to his already pale complexion, but after a few minutes he forced himself to leave.

It wasn't every day that he had opportunities to see everyone, after all. He couldn't waste it sulking.

So, he stepped out (ignoring his reflection in shop windows as religiously as he could) and entered the fray.