A/N: Disclaimer stuff. I love this pair. I love them so much that I'm doing the unthinkable (for me) and writing a short and pointless AU-ish fic for my own selfish sense of fulfillment, which is something I've never cared for, however I think Luna had too much potential. This will likely span several chapters and contain some sensuality, thought nothing above the "T" rating.

This is a strictly Noct/Luna fic, with minimal appearance of other characters because 1) whenever I tried to incorporate any other characters it got to crazy, and 2) These two have such rich and incredible chemistry to me that it's enough to dwell on it.

Part I

Brilliant light gleamed through the windows that towered from their peak at the ceiling of the room. Noctis let out a low groan as he stumbled into the room. Prompto and Ignis did their best to encourage him to rest while she was sent for but he had to see her for himself. The rite had brought salty seawater that had burned his throat and his eyes as he fought to prove himself to the goddess And Luna... her blue eyes shutting on him, only a mere feet away. Ardyn left as suddenly as he came. And Noctis could do nothing but react.

He felt a faint piercing pain somewhere in his chest. The flaxen haired preteen who welcomed him into her room as a wheelchair bound child was something of a dream to him growing up. He remembered her room was decorated in hues of ivory, gold, and shades of blue, somewhat from the sylleblossoms she'd grown acquainted with in her childhood.

They talked for hours, and though they had only met for several days, Luna could talk as though she had known him her entire life. He arrived in her home as a scared, traumatized boy and she coaxed him back to normalcy somewhat, and he emerged as "normal" as he could be.

The years that followed were a whirlwind of processional coming of age events for Noctis. Occasionally the pages of her notebook came to him scented, something he presumed was only an innocent custom of noblewomen in Tenebrae, but as a teenage adolescent in his own apartment it drove him to insanity at times thinking of her- the beautiful blonde haired princess he'd only met as a boy and seen on TV and in photographs was marking the pages of the notebook they shared.

Unknown to him, somewhere miles away the Princess of Tenebrae watched every little news story with video footage of him with special interest, while being careful as to not alert any Imperial's present of any potential interest or contact she could be having with the Lucian Prince.

And there she was before him now, the back of her head facing him in a single bold ray of light. A single braid lay across the crown of hear head, which faced him as she faced the window across from him, white light reflecting from her hair.

"Luna!" Noctis gasped.

In all of the dreams and nightmares he'd been having as of late, he was unsure of which side of the spectrum this was. Would she die again? Would it be at his own hands, or the hands of the empire this time? He didn't care at this point- he'd watched her stabbed with Ardyn's blade, and watched as her blood seeped through the white gown she wore for the ritual.

At this point he didn't care about the reality of this vision, he only wanted a moment with the woman he'd longed for all these years, despite that moment being in the midst of a dream or a nightmare.

"Noctis! You're awake!" The slender woman was facing him now, bracing the arms her brown wicker chair slowly as she stood, and winced noticeably as she did so. "T-The nurse told me not to move so sudden so forgive me I-"

Her words were cut short as Noctis briskly limped across the room and embraced her. He buried his face into the crook of her neck, with soft wisps of pale hair caressing his forehead from the breeze of the open window.

One always craves the simplicity granted in childhood, and for Noctis that simplicity was now contained in his grasp for the first time in years.

Luna returned the embrace softly. She longed for this reunion as much as he, but in all the events that took place since their political engagement, the desperation was intensified. She had premonitions and visions from the astrals for years now, and at times doubted if she'd ever see Noctis in the flesh again.

And she had. He was taller, he was solid, and she could feel his chest rise and fall with every breath as he breathed her in. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She loved him. In her many years of captivity she had fantasized about this reunion. Though the circumstances were less than ideal, she could feel the warmth from his body, and he was completely present- flesh and hair and voice and systems that made him alive where pressed against her. He swayed a little and she realized how unsteady he was from his wounds.

A sharp pain in her side warned her of any further exertion. "Noctis-" she said softly, "I have to sit down, I'm sorry."

He pulled back, looking down on her brow furrowed in pain inquisitively, and eased her back down into the chair, lowering himself on the the end table adjacent to it.

"You were stabbed..." His eyes bore into her sharply, full of emotion. It was the most genuine thing she'd ever been able to witness in another person. Unbeknownst to him, Noctis had that look even as a small child. She remembered the sweet little boy who visibly lit up when he noticed her enter the room.

Lunafreya pulled her white blouse up from where it was tucked into her high waisted skirt, and tugged the top hem of her skirt down some, revealing her freshly changed bandages.

"I was. I was brought the the hospital some time after the rite and I'm told they 'worked' on me. I had several drains from my wounds for several days afterward." She watched his clear blue eyes widen "But they've been removed. I've been meaning to return to the hospital to thank everyone. They were full to capacity and yet they saved my life."

Her gaze refocused on his sadly. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to make any trips anytime soon."

Noctis leaned forward and took her hand in one of his, resting it gingerly on her knee. His other reached to cup her cheek, a tender gesture she instinctively settled into.

"I'm so sorry, Luna. I should've-"

Her hand clutched his on her knee, causing him to pause. "No need. We both did what needed to be done."

Noctis looked down and sighed, before sucking air in through his teeth. "Yeah, I guess."

"And now it seems that I've earned some scars of my own, like you." She added playfully, quickly regretting her words as she realized how her words stung him. It wasn't her intention.

The Lucian Prince lightly squeezed her hands in his as if to tell her not to fret. He understood her better than anyone, and he knew that making light of terrible situations was what kept her in good spirits throughout the years of being a captive of the Empire, the extent of which he wasn't sure if he would ever know-or if he ever wanted to.

In the moments that followed, Noctis gently leaned forward and touched her cheek. After all these years of silly and anxious exchanges through the notebook, their engagement that was only enshrouded in tragedy. She sat before him in the flesh.

Luna's eye's locked on his and Noctis felt a breath get caught in his throat.

Perhaps if this were a novel or a movie he could declare his love for her, and tell her that he could not rest until they ran far, far away together. They could have a small wedding ceremony and and live out their days in a tiny studio apartment somewhere. He could worker as a hunter and provide for her. And he knew Luna wanted nothing more than freedom to roam.

But this wasn't a novel, this was the real world where they were bound by duty with too much at stake to ignore. It seemed Ardyn was always ten steps ahead of him and quite frankly, he felt greedy for the amount of time he and his companions would require just to recover in Altissia before continuing the pursuit of Ardyn. They had both come so close to death many times already, and there would be more close calls to come.

He'd heard the Oracle's voice via TV broadcast over the years, but for now it was only his to hear. He studied her face framed by his hand, it was ungloved and bare. Lunafreya relaxed into him. She looked older then she had even the day of the rite. Tender blue eyes were now framed by darkening circles and new creases at the corners. His callouses grazed her skin ever so slightly as he pulled her towards him, pressing a gentle kiss on her future was uncertain, but for now he was hers.

"Luna, thank you for everything." He murmured, lips barely and inch from her forehead. "You can rest now. You've been tough."

Luna lifted her head slightly and resumed eye contact. They were brow to brow now and she was scanning his face, eyes flitting in between his own.

"I have to give you something."