Noctis ran his hands through his hair, his fingers snagging on the tangles caused by the salty sea water that soaked him. His clothes felt stiff and uncomfortable as they thoroughly dried, the front of his shirt darker than the rest from the blood caked on it. The dried blood on his palms cracked as he flexed his hands in frustration, pacing doing little to help his agitation that had only been growing with the passing time. He looked up at the clock on the wall, grimacing that only another ten minutes had passed since he last looked at it. He pressed his hand over the breast pocket of his shirt, feeling the Lucii Ring there. It was heavier than it appeared, and he could feel the cool metal through the fabric. He winced at the thing, withdrawing his hand and rubbing his thumb over his fingers to push away what he was certain was imagined numbness.
"Noct?" Gladiolus's voice was a welcome startle, the Prince flinching as he turned to see his Shield running into the waiting room of the only hospital in Altissia. Nearly all the patients had been evacuated, the facility run by a skeleton crew to maintain an emergency room, and care for the patients too sick to move. Noctis staggered towards his friend, the men embracing, Gladiolus slapping Noctis hard on the back.
"You okay man?" he asked, voice cracking slightly. He licked his lips, realizing how dry his mouth felt.
"Yeah, I'm okay." He insisted. When he drew back the Shield kept a firm hand on Noctis's shoulder, squeezing hard and giving him a sharp nod. The man looked about as scruffy as himself. His hair was a tangled mess from drying seawater and his clothes were equally wrinkled.
"Specs and Prompto?" he asked.
"They're okay. Helping the Accordian Coast Guard." Gladiolus answered. "Any word on Lady Lunafreya?" Gladiolus asked. Noctis winced, shaking his head and squinted hard. He hadn't pictured things going so horribly awry when he was escorted to the room where Altissia was hosting the Oracle and stood across from her for the first time in twelve years.
"Twelve years." He whispered upon seeing her. She had been sitting in an armchair that dwarfed her, and she briefly looked like the child she was when he last saw her, until she stood up into the woman she was. She was thinner than her pictures made her look, and dark circles rimmed her eyes.
"Noctis." She answered, a smile pulling at those tired eyes.
"Luna… you…" he paused between words, licking his lips. He had recited what he had wanted to say to her a thousand times before this moment. They had joked about their reunion would go, the things they wanted to talk about, things to do. Movies to watch, music to enjoy, places to visit. All of it fell clean out of his head now that he was actually standing in the same room as her. The two Accordian soldiers that had led him to the room vanished from his periphery as his vision tunneled on her. She was the first one to move, closing the gap between him with graceful steps before she nearly jogged the final meter to throw her arms around his neck, resting her forehead on his shoulder.
"It's so wonderful to see you." She stated. Her voice cracked, so unlike the angelic voice that spilled from the radio like some artificial being. She sounded so…. Human.
"You too." He answered back, too quickly. His cheeks heated up as he tried to remember all the damn things his brain had rehearsed over and over. He tried to compensate for the awkwardness in his voice by finally reacting to her hug, bring his arms up around her. He pressed his palms against her back, bending his neck to rest his face against her shoulder. "I've missed you. I'm sorry… I'm sorry I-" she drew back from the hug sharply, pressing her index finger against his lips.
"We promised, no apologies. Remember?" she suggested, and he smiled remembering that nearly perfect cursive writing in purple ink from their notebook begging him not to have any regrets. No apologies.
"Right." He smiled, stammering again as he halted himself from saying sorry. "I'm just happy to see you again." His damned eyes hurt from how hard he was smiling, and he could see it reflected in the tug on her own eyes, pink touching her pale cheeks and for a moment she didn't look like the half-broken woman he had glimpsed sitting in that chair before she came running into his arms. She reached up, and his smile faltered when he noticed how thin her wrist was before the thought was pushed away by the feel of her palm against his cheek, her thumb brushing just under his eye.
"And no tears." She whispered. He frowned, aware of the burning in his eyes and blinked rapidly to try and keep any remaining tears back. He caught her gaze and then mirrored her gesture,
"You too." He suggested. She smiled, chuckling lightly and bowing her head feeling abashed. She tilted her head back up, bringing her other hand up to his other cheek and then Nocits found his heart pounding in his chest. She was starting to stand on her toes, her eyes closing, head tilted. His own eyes fluttered shut and his lips became warm. Oh so warm. Her lips felt dry against his, and just so damned good. The kiss felt too brief as she drew back, settling back on her heels, brushing her thumbs over his cheeks again before dropping them onto his chest. The slight pink on her cheeks had grown red, the color reaching her ears and he almost wanted to ask her when she added strawberry highlights to her hair but the tease caught in his throat.
"I waited twelve years to do that."
Noctis licked his bottom lip, remembering how they had shifted the conversation about the covenant. That accursed covenant. The damned soldiers couldn't let them enjoy their reunion before reminding them what they were there for. They discussed their plans, sitting side-by-side at the small dining table in her room, as close as propriety would allow. Gladiolus, Prompto, and Ignis would join with the Altissian military to evacuate the civilians while Noctis and Luna ascended the altar together to summon Leviathan so Noctis could prove he was worth the Crystal's blessing, and the bond with the notoriously temperamental astral.
The actual battle felt like a blur, and his body still ached from the trial of it. If it weren't for Lunafreya's shields he likely would have had his back broken when she had tried to swat him clean out of the air. The flash of light from Leviathan's blow against the shield had temporarily blinded him, and she was able to swat him with her tail. The impact hit his hip, and for a moment he thought his leg had been fractured. He collided with one of Lunafreya's shields, then a second. A third. He descended from the sky in a series of blows as she tried to minimize the damage as he fell fifty meters from the sky. She had crawled over to him, and a soothing warmth poured into his body to vanish the pain from so many impacts. How many bones did I break? He had wondered, but the thought vanished when she urged him to get back up and prove his worth. She kissed his forehead before drawing back, and with her went that soothing warmth.
Airships started dotting the sky, and Noctis forced himself to push his concern aside, this was why his friends had helped evacuate the city. He had to deal with the petulant astral that had been taunting him. He called upon the armiger, trying to ignore the pinpricks that crawled across his skin with its appearance. He looked up as Leviathan circled above, rising to meet her. Through her taunts, her accusations, her petty squabbling; he overcame her trial. He called upon Ramuh, to bring his rage from the sky, rippling through the water. He called upon Titan in all his fury, spires encircling the bellowing serpentine goddess. She wailed, screaming her protest at gifting her power to such an unworthy speck of fleeting life. But with rage and fury surrounding her, she submitted to the will of the Crystal and gifted Noctis her blessing.
Oh Prince! Your bride awaits!
The words rang in his head over and over. That damned honeyed voice. He looked down from his place in the sky, his skin aflame from the prolonged use of the armiger. The pain creeping into his very bones threatening to pull him apart. Down below Lunafreya was lying on her side, Nifleheim's chancellor gesturing with open arms as he started to back towards his airship. His hand in one hand, something reflecting light in the other. It took a moment to see it was metallic. His chest seized, breath catching in his chest. Luna!
He had rushed to her and found her gasping and groaning, both her hands clutched over her side as a growing crimson stain tainted her white dress. He stammered her name, trying to help her sit. He pried her hands away to get a look, but her blood and dress obscured the wound, as did her hands clamping back over it.
"You… you appeased her." she moaned, eyes squinting.
"We need to get help." He managed a whisper. Or he thought he whispered, her slight flinch making him aware that he was yelling. He shifted his grip to hook beneath her knees, his other arm behind her shoulders. He groaned as he stood, his whole body protesting the new stress. There was one hospital in Altissia, and he knew there would still be staff members there. His pulse throbbed in his ears, a rushing roar that tunneled his vision as his brain threatened to black out. He staggered to keep his balance, momentarily unsure which way was up or down.
But the moment passed, his vision returned, and the static sensation that filled his limbs faded back into a powerful ache that throbbed in his every bone. He promised her she would be all right, he would get her help. They would finish this together. She whimpered against him, both her hands still clamped tightly over her stomach. The warmth of her blood meeting his stomach startled him, too sharp a contrast to the cold sea water soaking him. He tried to remember where the hospital was from their evacuation plans, looking around for a landmark with which to ground himself in his panic. The altar is right behind you. He started towards the main road, and saw the first red Hospital sign, and started to follow them.
"They haven't told me anything yet." Noctis answered Gladiolus's question.
"She'll be okay." Gladiolus reassured. Noctis nodded, his face absent expression. His eyes looked past him, into something much further away than the floor. Silence hung between them, an old analogue clock on the wall ticking away to accompany the high-pitched tinny of white noise coming from a television in the corner of the room with a blue screen.
"Did we get everyone out of the city?" He asked, only half-aware of Gladiolus's answer, nodding, merely grateful he didn't need a deeper burden on his shoulders as his heart seized for Lunafreya. The memory of her kiss upon his lips made them tingle, and he licked his lips recalling the more passionate kiss she had shared with him once they reached the edge of the altar, allowing him to taste her tongue as she slipped hers past his lips, pulling back and shyly saying something about not having much practice in the act, the nervous expression only fading from her face after he dipped in for another taste. "Go sit down, you look like you're about to pass out. Leviathan kick your ass that hard?" he punched Noctis in the chest, and it seemed to finally be enough to jar him back to the present.
"I thought Titan was hard." Noctis admitted, blowing an unintended razzberry with his sharp exhausted exhale, dropping into a chair and lolling his head back. He tried to push back the recurring images of Lunafreya on that stretcher as emergency staff responded to his desperate plea. All the salt water that soaked him had broken his phone, so they only knew of her condition when he came bursting into the door screaming for help, startling the poor nurse manning the desk.
"Guess I haven't been kicking your ass hard enough, letting you slack off. Getting flabby on me?" he asked.
"Eating to much of Takka's chili I think." He forced a chuckle, slapping at his belly. "Going soft." I am going to absolutely end that arrogant monster. He grit his teeth thinking about that damned purple-haired cunt. "We need to stop the Empire man. They can't keep doing this. They destroyed Insomnia, Altissia… they tried to… they…" he hesitated, squinting. She won't die. "They tried to kill Luna." He grit his teeth, fingers curling into the arm of the chair he was in; his knuckles flushing white.
"We'll pay 'em back for all that and then some. They pissed off the wrong four ass holes." Gladiolus agreed, sitting beside Noctis and gripping his shoulder again.
"Five." Noctis corrected. "She put up with them for twelve years." He leanted forward, dropping his face into his palms. The throb in his throat grew, and when he swallowed he nearly choked, a sob finally breaking through. His eyes burned, tears spilling and burning the agitated skin of his wind-burned cheeks. His fingers curled, curling into his hair and pulling hard to try and counter the pain wracking through the rest of him. The grip on his shoulder wrapped around his back, and Noctis found himself pressed against Gladiolus's chest, hard slaps on his back causing his sobs to stutter.
"If you get any snot on m I can't promise I won't tell the guys about this." Gladiolus tried to tease, a sad smile on his face that Noctis let ouet an odd choking chuckle through his sob. He sat back, messily rubbing under his eyes with the heels of his hands.
"Gonna tell me to man up?" he asked, dodging his friends gaze.
"I'll have you man up later when I kick your ass to get you ready for the next god you need to piss off." He insisted. The creak of an opening door caught their attention, Noctis leaping to his feet as a nurse came into the room.
"How is she?" he blurted, trying to read the nurse's features but the damned woman was clearly good at remaining impassive as he couldn't ascertain any information from her expression alone.
"She pulled through surgery, we stopped the bleeding and she's in recovery." The young woman explained. "She's very groggy." She paused, looking up at Gladiolus, "And I'm sorry, only one visitor at a time."
"That's fine. I'll wait here for the guys, keep me posted okay? And have you checked your phone you must have a thousand missed messages." Gladiolus asked, but Noctis just shook his head.
"I got soaked during the fight… broke my phone."
"Shit." Gladiolus cursed.
"We'll figure out how to bug each other." He turned back to the nurse, "Can I see her?" the woman nodded, Noctis replying to Gladiolus's bye with a short wave and followed the nurse through the doors. They walked down the hallway, up an elevator, and into another wing of the hospital. "I'm glad you guys didn't lose power." Noctis said to fill the awkward silence with something. Though he was relieved to make this observation.
"The hospital has a secondary power supply as well as generators. Pretty hard to render us completely without power." She answered. Two more hallways later and they stopped outside of a room with 304 on the outside before being led inside. Noctis's brows knit together upon seeing her. An oxygen tube ran under her nose, hooked up to a device sticking out of the wall. Two different bags of fluid hung from a pole, running through a machine and ran under the blankets that had been pulled up to Lunafreya's neck. There was the hiss of oxygen, a quiet hum from the machine running the bags of fluids, a dim beeping from a computer displaying a variety of lines and numbers that he couldn't comprehend. The room smelled too sterile, a salty aftertaste hanging in the back of his throat from it.
"Luna…" he stepped closer to the bed, smiling at her when she turned her head in his direction. Her eyes were partially glazed, but she still smiled upon seeing him. Her voice was hoarse when she said his name, and oh gods was he relieved just to hear her voice. He saw a slightly shift in her blankets, and looked down, moving the blanket away so he could grip the hand she had been wiggling. He gave it a tight squeeze, smile growing wider when she squeezed back. "You'll be okay…" he reassured.
"Thank you…" she replied. She took in a slow breath, head turning back, eyes closed, and exhaled slowly.
"Are you in pain?" he asked. There was a hesitation, and he could read the answer in her body before she finished fighting with herself and she nodded. "Do you need medicine?"
"I think they gave me some." She answered. "Besides… if I take more I'll fall asleep. I want to see you for a little bit before I fall asleep again."
"I'm not going anywhere. If you need something for the pain ask for it." he tried to insist, but she shook her head. There was something in her distant gaze he couldn't read, a pause before her reply that left him feeling unsettled, his hatred for the Empire resurfacing, squeezing her hand a bit tighter. He squinted, fighting he tears that threatened to come back. Stay strong for her. You cried enough. Now it's your turn to be strong. She's always been the strong one so be strong for her now. He argued with himself. He stood a bit straighter, the awkward bend not taking long to remind him how much he ached. He looked around, noticing a chair on the other side of her bed. He slipped his hand from her grip, her fingers curling around his to keep the contact as long as possible. 'I'm just moving to the other side of the bed so I can sit down." He reassured, chuckling at how eager she was to hold his hand.
Something warm stirred in his chest at the thought she wanted to be with him as badly as he wanted to be with her. That she missed him as powerfully as he did her. But that warmth shifted into guilt, and he tried not to let the feeling overtake him. No regrets. You promised. He sat down on the chair on the other side of the bed, reaching under her blankets to give her hand a squeeze.
"I love you Noct." She whispered. His chest seized again, and a vision of that cursive purple writing flashed beneath his eyelids as he blinked too quickly.
"I love you Luna." He answered back, his own messy black printing coming to mind. He read the words a thousand times, the memory of her voice from the radio reciting those words when he read her letters. But hearing her voice actually say it. Despite being hoarse, despite the cracking in her voice, it was hers. The words were spoken, not read. "Gods I love you."
"It feels so good to hear it in your voice." She chuckled.
"You a creepy mind reader now?" he teased, "I was just thinking how nice it is to hear it from your voice… its even prettier than that purple pen you always used."
"And a lot prettier than that chicken scratch you call hand writing." She teased, turning her head to him again. She squeezed his hand, smiling at him. "I love you."