I'm glad some of you are enjoying the story.
I'm drawing a bit of a blank for today's note, so for now I'll just say 'enjoy'.
Iris' mind at that point was flatlining a bit when she felt Noctis kiss her- or did she kiss him?
Questions for later.
Critical thinking took a back seat for the moment, and Iris indulged in his affection, allowing herself to be drawn into his chest and trapping her arms against this shirt. His jacket fell from his free hand, rising to slowly, almost reverently, brush her hair back. It was simple, but Iris appreciated it and would have enjoyed if he continued.
She couldn't help but whine softly when she felt him pull his mouth from hers, clutching at his shirt when she felt his hand clamp possessively on her hip. His eyes opened slowly, and she thought she detected a hint of warm affection before he blinked and they were filled with recognition. Iris yelped softly when he pushed her so that they were at arms-length. She would've felt a bit offended if he didn't keep his hands securely on her shoulders. He took a deep breath and looked down guiltily, his hands shaking slightly. If Iris didn't know any better, the only reason he was still holding her was for his own reassurance. "S-sor-"
"I'm so sorry!"
"You...wait, what?"
"Really, Noct, I didn't mean to do that, I just- I slipped and-"
"Iris."
Noct steeled his voice enough for his simple intonation to stop her tirade. His thumb gently brushed against her shoulder as he smiled sheepishly and murmured, "I'm pretty sure that was my fault."
"But I tripped-"
"And I think you're cute. I guess it was a...spur of the moment type thing."
"But it was still an accident, right?"
Iris couldn't keep the tinge of disappointment out of her voice, fervently hoping that Noct didn't notice when she realized what she said. She made to apologize when Noct smiled mysteriously. "Maybe."
"Are-...are you teasing me?"
"A bit."
Iris smiled, relieved by his vague answer. She was truly worried that he would condemn her for the accidental little kiss, but what she got instead was both comforting and confusing. The former in that he seemed to be taking in in stride, and the latter in that he was being very...vague about his thoughts. Did he enjoy it?
I-I mean, I sure did, but…
"I'm feeling a lot better, Iris. Thanks for coming."
Inwardly, Noct was trying not to panic. He had just, well...for lack of a better way to put it, made out with Gladiolus' little sister. That burning feeling in his chest had mercifully disappeared, and he couldn't help but think that may have been due to their little tete-a-tete.
But never mind that, what was he gonna do about this? She was smiling now, gazing dreamily at his with those damned innocent eyes and he felt like he was going to kiss her again. He had always considered Luna to be his first and only, but that essentially meant that he had to discard any romantic feelings he felt would develop into a problem.
This was certainly a problem.
There was no denying that Iris liked Noct, though how much was uncertain to the conflicted prince. It was this kind of attraction and acceptance that had led him to indulge her back in Lestallum, genuinely enjoying her tour and glowing inwardly when she called it a date. Whatever he might have wanted to talk about other than the consequences of crossing Gladio was promptly silenced when she had reminded him of his commitment to Luna, driven home hard by the moment of melancholy that shadowed her face. Before he could say something to cheer her up, however, she did the job herself by lighting up immediately and dragging him to their next stop. There was a strange implication when she said that no one needed to know, and, while it might have been a joke, Noctis found himself thinking more intensely about it. He looked again at the girl in his arms and pondered.
Wait, he was still holding her.
He made to let her go, pulling his hands away from her shoulder just before Iris stepped forward to pull him into a quick hug. He froze briefly, hesitantly returning the embrace as his mind caught up with what was happening. Rather than speak immediately, the two simply enjoyed the warm little hug. "Well, you can count on me not to tell anyone. Our little secret."
A soft chuckle rumbled out of Noctis' chest. "Like that date back in Lestallum?"
"Mhm. I guess they're piling up."
She smiled mischievously despite herself, pushing aside how guilty she felt when he smiled again. "Thanks."
"Wanna head back inside? I think Gladdy's gonna bust the door down if we stick around for too long."
"Sure."
Iris took Noct by the arm and pulled him back into the room. He didn't mind, of course, but he hesitated upon seeing Gladio's glare at the close proximity of the two. From his experience on the receiving end of those, Noct could almost tell what he was thinking. Watch it.
He shot him a look that told him to buzz off in reply. Contrary to his expression, however, Gladiolus spoke with genuine concern. "Feeling better, Noct?"
"Yeah. I think I just used too much magic today. That summon really took it outta me, too."
"Make sure you get a good night's sleep, then. I'm heading back to my room. Good night, guys."
She waved over her shoulder and headed towards the door amid the chorus of replies, stopping just short of the doorknob to look over her shoulder and shoot Noctis a glance. Rather than follow up, she simply grinned and ducked out gracefully. Noctis sighed, falling back onto one of the beds. He idly chatted with Prompto and Gladio until Ignis shut the lights off, and, even then, sleep did not come until at least an hour later.
Noct awoke the next morning feeling much better than the prior night, if only a bit hungry. He curled into his blankets and gazed sleepily at the wall while he waited for the usual alarm to sound.
Except it didn't.
He reached out blindly for the bedside cabinet, trying to grab his phone when he heard a dull thump and the rustling of paper. Opening his eyes and squeezing them shut briefly to wake himself up a bit, he stared at the slip of paper that had fallen on the floor. Noct blinked and grabbed the note, staring at it judiciously before the message registered.
Went to see chocobo racing. You were knocked the hell out, so we left ya there. Be back in two or three hours, so freshen up and be ready by lunchtime.
And don't do anything pervy with my sister.
"Gonna do everything pervy, jerk."
"What?"
It was then that Noctis realized that the only reason Gladiolus would leave a warning like that was because Iris was still there with him. He turned over quickly to see Iris sitting on the bed next to his. She was wearing a simple black shirt and jeans, and, from what little Noct knew about women's fashion, her hair was free of any kind of muss or bedhead. Seems someone was up way before him. "N-...nothing. I thought you were sleeping in your room."
"Oh, I was. I just thought I'd come check on you."
"Didn't wanna go for chocobo racing with the boys?"
"Nah. I'd beat them all anyway."
Noct rolled onto his back and crossed his arms behind his head, smiling at the mental image of Iris racing circles around his friends while they struggled to finish their lap. "Confident, are we?"
"You bet."
He wound back and hopped off the bed, stretching his arms up and patting his shirt down. "Well, I'm not gonna flip that coin. Wanna grab something for breakfast?"
"Crow's Nest?"
"Guess so. Otherwise I can see if I can throw something together with our gear."
"Can you make Ignis' omelettes?"
"Hey, now. I'm no slouch in the kitchen either, you know."
"How often do you cook?"
"...I can make the omelettes."
"Cool. I'm taking a shower."
Noct turned and looked her up and down briefly, pondering what she was on about. "You look fine to me."
"Thanks, but I don't feel fine. Take your time, okay?"
She hopped off the bed and skirted around his, letting a gentle hand drift lightly against his back as she passed. Noct ignored the instinct to pull her back against him, chastising himself mentally for letting that feeling bite him again. "Alright."
I think one of my problems during my personal writing process is that I feel I need a word quota that is too high for me. As such, I've begun to write more consistent, smaller chapters in the vein of the this story. Hopefully it works out,
