Chapter 1 – A Wonderful Christmas
" . . . Siiimply, haaaving, a wonderful Christmas time . . ."
Noctis looked toward the ceiling with a strong scowl, spotting the speaker situated in a nearby corner. The song irritated him, but it wasn't just the tone of it that grated him so. The lyrics were just as bad, as if they were taunting him. He got enough crap from his friends. He didn't need some dumb song adding to the pile.
So far, his Christmas, or rather Christmas Eve, consisted of avoiding his father and trying to maintain a level head about the sudden events that had put his life in a chokehold. His friends, who were sitting in a booth just a little way from the restroom, were of little comfort to him. Usually they served as great distractions, quickly putting his mind at ease with their casual banter, but the incessant teasing was beginning to take its toll on the young man.
"Some Christmas this turned out to be." Noctis sighed, returning his gaze to the stall door to his right. He had excused himself from dinner to take refuge in the restroom, knowing that his friends wouldn't follow. However, he knew what they would be thinking since he was taking a while to return, and he wasn't so sure if he could handle that level of mocking on top of everything else that night. He already had a throb forming in his skull, and he knew that as the minutes ticked by, that throb would only increase.
With a heavy sigh, the young man pushed off the wall and unlocked the stall door, leaving the safety of the dim space and giving his hands a quick wash. He exited the restroom and made way for the booth where the remainder of his party resided.
He slid into place beside Prompto, avoiding looking at anyone as he grabbed his glass of cola and sipped, nose crinkling in mild disgust from the watered-down flavor his tongue met with. It was then he noticed how unusually quiet the table was. Noctis looked up to see three pairs of eyes glued to him, or four if you counted eyeglasses.
"What?" He snapped.
Gladiolus offered a partial smile in response; whereas Prompto said the thing he was dreading.
"Sure took awhile, eh?" The talkative blond chuckled, picking up a chicken tender and smothering it in barbecue sauce. Noctis had half a thought to smother Prompto, but was quickly pulled from that thought by a voice he hadn't heard since their food initially arrived.
"Leave the poor lad alone, Prompto." Ignis scolded, his unamused stare clear even through the light effecting his glasses.
With a huff, the blond did as asked and busied his mouth with eating rather than chatting.
Although Ignis got on Prompto about pestering him, that didn't mean Noctis got off the hook entirely.
"So, when are you gonna do it, Noct? It's been how long now? Since you were kids, right?" Gladiolus brought up the dreaded topic, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward just a bit. The fabric covering his torso strained over his shoulders from the motion. Noctis wondered why the bigger man insisted on wearing such tight-fitting clothing when he could get something that actually fit his build. He supposed that he should be thankful though, for the cold weather, at least. Gladiolus had a habit of not covering his torso at all when the warmer months were upon them.
Noctis didn't bother hiding his discontent this time around. "We've known each other since we were kids, but we've only been together since high school."
"And how many years does that make it? Seven? Eight?" The big guy smirked.
"None of your damn business." Noctis growled, voice low.
"It's Christmas, must we argue about this? Besides, Gladio, it is his decision on when to pop the question. Don't force his hand." Ignis adjusted his glasses and leaned back in the booth, giving the biggest of the four a level stare.
Ignis was always the "mom friend" of the group, and although he did join in on the teasing a lot of the time, Noctis was thankful to have him on his side even for just this moment. Maybe the brunet saw how irritated he was upon excusing himself to the restroom. He wouldn't hold it passed Ignis to know the exact reason why he had left in the first place.
Gladiolus crossed his arms with a grunt, giving a final stare at Noctis before relenting and staring down at his mostly empty plate. He picked at a few stray fries but overall kept his mouth shut.
Noctis kept the scowl on his face even as the remainder of the meal played out. When the bill came, Ignis was quick to snatch it before Noctis could even comprehend what had happened.
"I've got it." Came the bespectacled man's reply upon noticing Noctis' incredulous stare. When Noctis continued to look, Ignis sighed. "It's a holiday. Consider this an extension of our gift to you."
"So shouldn't I be paying for you guys then?" The dark haired young man moved to snatch the bill again, but Ignis was quicker than he seemed and held it just out of reach.
"And what would make you think that?" He raised an eyebrow.
Noctis leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms and staring at the brunet with a frown. "As an extension of my gift to all of you. Money's not an issue."
"Neither is money an issue for us." Gladiolus chimed in.
"Hey," Prompto frowned, "Speak for yourselves."
"Sorry, Prompt." The bigger man answered with a frown, voice softer.
The blond perked up immediately. "All cool. And hey, Noct, we know that things have been a little weird lately. Between your dad pushing you to take over the company soon on top of the merger and your relationship with Luna, we totally get it. So, just, let us do this for you, alright? It's the least we can do."
Noctis understood where his friends were coming from, he truly did, but he couldn't help the sudden bubble of rage that flooded his system. It consumed him, and he was helpless to stop it.
"You get it?" He repeated slowly, tone questionable as he balled his hands into fists and placed them on the table. His knuckles started to fade white as his glare turned seething. "Oh, right, you understand so that's why you tease me?" He laughed, but the tone wasn't friendly. "I'm nervous as hell about asking Luna to marry me. What if she doesn't want marriage? What if she says no and that's that? And I'm worried about taking over the company. My dad sees so much in me that I don't. I don't think I can do it. I'm not ready. It's a lot to handle and he just doesn't see that I'm not ready for this. And maybe I'm not ready for marriage, either. I don't know anymore. And then on top of that the merger of the companies is happening soon, so not only have you guys been pressuring me to marry Luna, but my dad has too so the face of the company looks better. There's so much change happening all at once, and you're fucking jokes and taunts don't help a damn thing! So the least you all could do would be to shut up and drop it." Noctis shut his eyes and loosened his hands, a shaky breath leaving his lips as he slumped back into the booth. The anger left him just as swiftly as it had come.
"Please. Please just drop it." His voice was soft, almost a whisper, and had it not been that most of the restaurant had quieted due to the outburst, the rest of his party wouldn't have heard them spoken.
A long, eerie silence befell the table even when the rest of the restaurant resumed its pace.
"Noct, we're sorry." Ignis was the first to break the quiet, his gaze gentle and appearance apologetic.
Noctis averted his eyes to the floor, crossing his arms and resisting the urge to storm out of the establishment to be alone. That was how he usually dealt with his problems. He would run away and hide and wait until he was calm enough to resurface, but he now understood that that was no way to handle things, excluding his brief excursion to the restroom earlier.
However, he still bottled everything up until he exploded, which wasn't healthy either, but one-step at a time, right?
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Gladiolus grunted, giving the dark-haired man an unmoving stare that Noctis could feel boring into his skull.
"Yeah, man, why didn't you tell us to knock it off?" Prompto chirped, fidgeting in place as he often did when nervous or worried.
With a sigh, Noctis finally returned his gaze to his group of friends, focusing mostly on Gladiolus. "Because you assholes are stubborn, and even if I said to stop you'd keep going anyway. I thought I could ignore it long enough until I was home again, but that was stupid. When I go home I have to deal with my dad anyway, so why not explode here in public, right?"
"Why explode at all? If you'd just talk about your damn feelings then you wouldn't have this problem, would you?" Gladiolus countered, gaze stern.
Noctis met that gaze with a scowl. "Why do you always have to get on me like this? Why can't you just—"
"Enough," Ignis bellowed, causing Noctis to shut his mouth and three sets of eyes to stare at the brunet. "I have had enough of this nonsense. Gladiolus, Prompto, tone down the taunts and anything of the sort. Give the poor lad some space. Although trivial to you perhaps, these are life changing events that are happening in Noct's life."
Gladiolus opened his mouth to make a comeback, but was quickly silenced by a raised pointer finger and Ignis continuing his speech. "And Noct. You need to stop holding things in. If something is bothering you, talk to us. If you're getting tired of our teasing, then please, by all means, tell us to shove it. I would like to have a peaceful holiday this year."
Noctis grumbled in agreement, while Gladiolus nodded his head and turned his gaze away.
"Good. Now, let us pay the bill and get moving. We've made a big enough scene." Ignis scooted out of the booth and stood, making his way to the bar to pay for their meals right away.
The remaining three slowly followed suit, but before anyone stepped foot outdoors, they bundled up to fight off the awaiting cold. However, despite being cozy in a thick jacket and drab scarf, Noctis couldn't help the sharp intake of breath when the frigid air slapped him in the face.
"It's freakin' cold out here." Prompto loudly announced, earning a grumble from Noctis as the group made haste for the Regalia.
Ignis was the designated driver that night, as he usually was, and Prompto quickly called shotgun. That left Noctis and Gladiolus to the back seat, which was fine by them.
Once inside with the top on and windows up, Ignis cranked up the heat and let the car sit idle for a few minutes before finally backing out and making the trek to Noctis' apartment.
This night may have started out as a pleasure, quickly turned for the worse and ended with him grumpy, but he did have to admit that he loved his friends. They only wanted the best for him, and although that mostly included an absurd amount of teasing when he wanted nothing but peace, he couldn't hate them for it. It was simply in their nature.
Author's Notes: Updated December 4, 2017!
I glanced through this and made a few minor edits. I'm going to be doing the same with chapter 2, and I'll be updating soon with the final chapter so be on the look out! I'm also going to be posting this on my AO3, same username as I have on here, so if reading over there is more your style, it'll be posted soon!
Also, I still cannot stand this song, but thankfully I no longer work retail, so I'm not subjected to the crap that is Christmas music non-stop. No offense to those who actually like this music, but I can't stand it.
I had this idea the other day when I visited Applebee's. I had to use the restroom, and while I was in there this annoying song started to play almost immediately. The first thought that came to mind was someone on Christmas or Christmas Eve being in a restaurant/somewhere for the holidays when they didn't want to be and then this song starts to play as if taunting them. I wasn't sure who to make the characters, but considering I've been playing Final Fantasy XV, and this seemed appropriate for Noctis, well . . .
Anyway, I don't know the name of the song, but I only use the one line so whatever. It mostly served as a writing prompt. I hear it a lot at work though, and it's now become grating to the ears.
Oh, and one last thing. Since this is a modern AU, I decided on making Noctis the heir to some massive company/corporation. I also decided to make Luna an heir as well but to a smaller company. Their marriage would signify a merger of the two companies, although they had been dating for years and have known each other since they were children. Noctis wants to pop the question not out of "responsibility" to the company, but because he loves Luna and feels that it may be time.