Title: Near Death Experiences
Author: Warangel88
Pairing: Stella/Noctis
Warnings: In Gameish, Possible OOC
Author Notes: A pretty old fic that I wrote awhile ago, Thanks Lammy for Betaing
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy Versus XIII

"When did you start seeing it?"
"When I was a child."
"A near death experience I presume."

– Noctis & Stella Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Sometimes, if he concentrated hard enough, he can almost remember what heaven was like.

It had been extremely peaceful and it was almost like paradise. He remembers a gorgeous woman with long silver hair and violet blue eyes, clothed in black silk and a soft sad smile that lit up her features as she stared back at him. Someone that he had instantly recognized as the Goddess Etro from the many paintings of her within the palace.

The Goddess of the Underworld, who shall open the door and welcome the souls of the dead. When that occurs, a bright light shall shine down from the skies over the dead. Those few who could see that light shall be bestowed with strength from the land of the dead.

Or so the legend says. The legend from his own kingdom and Tenebrae.

He's heard the legends of those few people that could see the light. Those who had been close to death. He knew Stella had been one of those people during their first encounter. She had admitted she could see the light and, like him, had been bestowed with the power of the dead when she was a child.

Perhaps that was really how she had become a soldier. She had been bestowed with the Goddess' gift, or curse. For she has the power from the land of the dead, much like himself. Just like another that he had been forced to fight. One with long pale blonde hair, dressed in a white robe.

His dark blue eyes silenced observed the familiar blond with violet blue eyes standing in front of him. Despite their current enemy status, he can sense the fact that she had no desire to fight him and wanted to, perhaps, call a temporary truce.

Even if it was just a night.

Although it seemed like Stella never truly wanted to fight him in the first place. It had probably been ordered to her by her father so that they could get the crystal and save their country.

It honestly seemed everyone needed the crystal for something. Whether it's to save their country, for power or for some other reason.

"Can I sit beside you?" she questioned softly, silently indicating the space on the wooden bench beside him.

"Sure," he replied. He notices that she smiles slightly before she moved to sit down next to him, while keeping a reasonable distance away. Still close enough so that if anyone were to come across them, they might think they were a couple that had decided to sit down and enjoy the night air.

"So how did you start seeing the light?" he questioned, remembering the first conversation they had, had with each other almost a year ago. He was no doubt implying what her near death experience had been that caused her to see it.

"Hmm, when I was a child, there was a sickness that swept through the kingdom. It killed a lot of the children and I was one of the few that had gotten sick," she said softly.

"You mean the Kystalan Disease?" he questioned. He remembered hearing of a disease that plagued a neighboring kingdom when he was a child. It was occasionally mentioned when he was a teenager as well.

She nodded. "I was eight when I got extremely sick to the point where I was near death. That's when I saw her, the Goddess. The doctor said it had been a miracle that I was still alive, much less cured of the disease. I suppose it had been Etro that had cured me. People later called me the lucky princess because I was the child that survived."

"I was also eight when it had happened," he said softly, silently supposing that it was only fair that he tell her his side of the story. "It had been an assassination attempt, which had obviously failed, that had killed the other members of the royal family. It was my father's advisor, Cid, that had found me barely alive."

"Do you know who did it?" she questioned softly.

"Cid had told me that it was a dark sorcerer named Set," he answered. "He had obviously held a grudge against my family for a long time and wanted to see us all annihilated. That was really the only thing he told me."

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Don't be. It's not your fault," he replied, slightly glancing at the woman next to him. He notices her look up at the night sky.

"I suppose I should be heading back now," Stella replied moments later, as she stood up from the park bench and stretched out her muscles. "It's late and I'm sure Arinna will bite my head off if she realizes that I'm gone."

Noctis nodded, realizing he was probably worrying his own friends/bodyguards. "I guess I'll see you around then, Stella," he replied.

She nodded slightly, "I guess so."

Both of them caught the silent implication that it would probably be on the battlefield. Or maybe they will have another talk like they did tonight.

He silently hopes it was the latter. Somehow he gets the feeling that she is one of the very few people out there who truly understood him.

Whether it was because of their near death experiences or not.

-the end

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