A/N: You'll see the choice soon enough, folks! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story idea, in conjunction with Milaya Milen Zeal. She wrote Noctis's parts, as well as Zidane's, Mikoto's, Kuja's, and Sephiroth's.

Heated Passion

Chapter 7

When Kuja pulled up to the castle as close as he was able to without trouble, Prompto was surprised to see a bit of a commotion near the steps.

"I wonder what's going on?" he frowned, looking at Noctis.

Noctis shrugged his shoulders to show he didn't know. "I told Father I was heading out…so that can't be it."

As Noctis got out of the car ahead of his omega, Kuja merely leaned on the door, a small, bemused smirk playing on his face. Almost as if he knew something no one else did. Mikoto noticed, but she said nothing of it.

Prompto followed Noctis closely as they headed towards the castle's entrance, still curious. He hoped it wasn't anything bad.

"Prompto," Kuja suddenly called out, drawing the younger's attention. Once he had turned to him, Kuja smirked as he said, "I'll text once I finished fixing your clothes, kay?" Without waiting for a response, Kuja gave a cheeky wave and said, "Later, dear," before he rolled up the window and drove off.

Noctis watched the car drive off, before he turned to Prompto and held out his hand to him. The blonde took the offered hand with a smile, just glad to be back with his alpha. He was tired of being away from him, even if the separation wasn't long. Noctis smiled back briefly, before he started walking up the stairs.

"Hey," he said to one of the guards as he ran by. "What's going on?"

"P-Prince Noctis!" the guard stammered in alarm, before he quickly bowed. "M-my apologies but…! L-Lady Lunafreya has gone missing!"

The moment those words finished, Noctis's eyes widened in alarm. "What?!"

"Do you have any idea where she could have gone?" Prompto asked, also worried, but having a faint inkling of what may have happened.

"N-none! W-we've searched the perimeter, but—"

"Well search HARDER!" Noctis interrupted, making the man jump. "Move it!"

"Y-yes, Sire!" the man stammered, before rushing off.

"Easy, Noct," Prompto soothed, gently squeezing the hand he held. "I have a feeling I know what happened." Curious, Noctis turned to regard him. "Zidane."

"…wait what?"

"I think she's with Zidane. It's not like her to disappear like that, ya know," the blonde pointed out.

"…and Zidane comes to mind because…?" Noctis questioned.

"Considering he whispered something to her back in the gardens, I'm sure he whisked her away for a bit. That may have been what he told her he was gonna do," the omega shrugged.

Noctis frowned a bit, clearly not entirely convinced, but he decided it was better to leave it be for now. "Let's just…get inside. Hopefully they'll find her before the Daemons come out…"

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Noct. She's a tough one, too," the smaller male assured him. "If need be, we'll help look for her."

"Right," Noctis said with a nod as they headed inside.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Unfortunately, Luna was not found when the night fell, which worried more than a few people at the castle. Of course, none of them could know that Luna was just fine and was, in fact, enjoying herself quite well outside the walls of Insomnia.

"Right, we're back!" came a chipper voice as a golden Chocobo trotted onto the haven, before its rider hopped off after tossing a boar-like creature down from the bird's back. "Thanks, Choco," the rider quipped, petting the bird's neck.

"Kweh~"

"Looks like the hunt went well," Luna commented, smiling at the sight.

"Yep!" Zidane quipped with a laugh as he dragged the corpse over to the fire, with the Chocobo trotting right after. "So how're you liking your first camping trip?" he asked as he began to clean and cut the meat.

"It's really nice, being under the stars like this," she smiled.

"Yeah. 's nice to be away from the city every now and again," Zidane agreed, as he began to set up the cooking pan over the fire. "Get the feeling city folk have completely forgotten what the sky looks like nowadays. Could you pass me those fruits next to your bag?"

"Of course," the omega smiled, handed them to the alpha. "Thank you again for getting me away for a bit, Zidane. I just hope there's not too much panic back at the castle…"

"Hey no prob. Can't very well ignore a cry for help now, can I?" Zidane quipped with a small grin as he began cutting the fruits and meat into pieces. "And I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides; shows they still have to up the security a bit, eh?"

"I'm not exactly a suspicious person in the first place, so I don't think sneaking me out was as difficult as you'd think," Luna giggled.

"Castle…maybe. Insomnia in itself…I think that constitutes as a liiiittle more difficult," Zidane laughed as he dumped some of the meat in the pot.

"Point taken," the oracle smiled. "So, Zidane, I am curious to know, what brought you and your siblings to Insomnia in the first place?"

"…" Zidane actually paused what he was doing then, and his chipperness went away almost immediately. Noticing this, Luna sighed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," she apologized.

Shaking his head, Zidane went back to what he was doing, adding some fruits to the pot. "It's okay…just…lot of stuff happened…you probably heard about the aborted engagement between me and Dagger, right?"

"Yes, but I never knew why the engagement was ended between you and Queen Garnet. Again, only rumors, but I would prefer to hear it from the source," Luna answered.

Zidane was silent for a bit, using a stick to prod at the fire. "…It'd take too long to explain all of it. Just…we had a bunch of crap going on—pardon the phrasing—back home with Fa—…Garland."

"I'm so sorry, Zidane. You're too good of a person to deserve that," Luna told him.

"…thanks," Zidane murmured, reaching into his bag and pulling out a bottle of wine. The shorter blonde bit down on the cork, grumbling under his breath as he tugged on the bottle. Luna watched, before placing a comforting hand on his thigh.

"I meant what I said, Zidane. Please don't believe that you're not a good person," she insisted.

Zidane briefly nodded his head—right before he got the cork off finally, barely managing to avoid spilling any of the wine over his cravat. "Yeah, I know. I appreciate it." Zidane said with a small smile after spitting out the cork. Moving over, he poured a little bit of the red liquid into the pot. "Plus…well…Dagger and I…I dunno. Things just…changed. Too much. Know what I mean?"

"I know well what you mean. Noctis and I had thought for the longest time that we were to be put into an arranged marriage ourselves, until Regis chose to not go through with it, and let Noctis choose who he wants. And it's obvious who he chose," she smiled. "I'm happy for them, regardless of what anyone says. Besides, I see Noctis as more of a younger brother than a potential alpha for me. Prompto and Noctis compliment each other well, anyway."

"Not gonna argue 'bout that," Zidane chuckled. "They definitely look good together."

"I'm curious to know how the pregnancy will go," she giggled.

"Heh. Yeah…how long does that take, anyway? Nine months, still?"

"Eight months for male omegas, but females have nine month pregnancies. No one's entirely certain as to why that is, but it's just how it goes," Luna answered.

"Hmm…okay. Cool."

Suddenly Choco snapped its head up to the side and shot to its feet. "KWEH!"

"…!" Though startled by the shout, Zidane immediately whirled in the direction that the bird had as well, as he picked up on the subtle sound as well; the crunching of a twig. Without a word, he reached toward the holsters at his side, where he kept his two daggers.

"Don't do anything stupid, Zidane," Gladio's voice growled, as he and Ignis entered the haven.

"Is this where you two have been this whole time?" Ignis asked, frowning.

"…What of it?" Zidane said simply.

"You worried the whole castle by leaving with Lunafreya like that," the sandy blonde told him.

"I'm sorry, Ignis, Gladio. I take it Noctis is especially worried, huh?" Luna murmured.

Zidane didn't even bother to reply, keeping his hands on his daggers, still.

"Chill out, Zidane. We're just here to take you two back. We've got the Regalia nearby, and the daemons will stay away with the headlights we had installed," Gladio grunted.

"We'd probably best cut this short, then," Luna sighed.

"…No, thanks," Zidane quipped, as he moved back to the fire. "Food first, and then I might consider it."

"What are you making?" Ignis inquired curiously.

"Dali Hotpot," Zidane quipped as he dropped down next to his bag and pulled out a couple of vegetables, beginning to cut them into pieces above the pot.

"Mind showing me? It seems interesting," Ignis said, approaching.

Zidane blinked at the words, before he shrugged. "Sure." Pausing for a moment, he pulled out a few veggies and tossed them to Ignis. "Just chop those up and put 'em in," he quipped. The beta looked at Gladio pointedly, and the larger beta sighed before sitting by Luna, while Ignis sat next to Zidane.

"What meat did you use, and what cut?" the sandy blonde questioned as he neatly chopped up the veggies.

"Eh, I just eyeball the cutting, really," Zidane said, dropping the last bits of his batch in the pot. "Best meat to use is the type with some half-decent fat on it. Makes the sauce better. Lu, pass me those berries over there, will ya?"

"Here you go," she smiled, handing them to him. Looking at Gladio, she asked, "Has Prompto been able to keep Noctis calm, at least?"

"As calm as he can be knowing you're missing," the brunette sighed.

"Ah, he worries too much," Zidane quipped, as he removed his gloves and picked up the bottle of wine. After cupping his free hand, he poured a small amount of wine in his hand, and then put the berries in them. And after placing his other hand over it, he leaned forward and pushed his hands together slowly. This caused him to squish the berries and make their juices mix with the wine as it dribbled down his palms and into the pot.

"We've known each other since we were children, Zidane. I don't blame him," Luna said.

"Well, at least he'll know you're safe once we get back," Gladio shrugged.

"Which doesn't do him much good right now," Ignis retorted.

Zidane didn't bother to respond, as he wordlessly put another fruit in the pot. "There. Now we just let it simmer for a bit."

As the small group sat there, waiting for the food to boil, Zidane blinked. "Ah, right," he mumbled, before he turned to Luna. "Since we're on a time crunch, you wanna get it done now?"

"Oh, sure!" she nodded after a second.

"Get what done?" Gladio frowned, suspicious.

"Cool," Zidane said, ignoring Gladio's question as he reached into his pocket and moved over. Settling in front of Luna, he pulled out a few bobby pins and used them to push her bangs out of the way. Done with that, Zidane walked back to the fire and pulled on his gloves again, before he reached for the fire and pulled out a thin iron rod that had been placed among the logs.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Gladio demanded.

"You'd better tell them before he tries to tackle you, Zidane," Luna cautioned.

Zidane shrugged his shoulders. "It's called getting a piercing, dude."

"It's a custom for alphas and omegas in Lindbulm," Ignis explained. "The alpha of the relationship will wear the earring on their right ear, while the omega wears theirs on the left."

"Why are you… Wait, you're serious with him?!" Gladio gaped, before sighing heavily. "As long as we don't get any shit for it, I guess…"

Zidane ignored Gladio's last statement as he settled in front of Luna again, lightly tugging her earlobe away from her throat. "Ready?" he asked as he brought up the rod.

"Whenever you are," she said, exhaling evenly.

Nodding once, Zidane kept his full focus on what he was doing, exhaling once, before he pushed forward, with the rod burning its way through the skin of the earlobe. Once it was through, he tugged it back out again, after which he pulled off one glove and passed it to Luna.

Feeling a little nervous, Luna put the glove on, and took the offered rod. She then looked at Zidane for a bit of guidance. Zidane calmly reached for his own bangs and moved them out of the way, pushing his own ear away from his throat, giving her a small nod. Nodding to herself, Luna then focused on her task, before pushing the rod through, successfully piercing through the skin without incident before removing it.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Yep," the blonde said with a small smile, before he reached into his pocket again, reaching forward and clipping a simple earring through Luna's newly pierced ear. It was a tear-drop shaped sapphire, suspended in a golden hanger. Once it had been clipped shut, Zidane passed its brother to Luna. The omega smiled softly as she did the same for Zidane, and then inhaled the warm aroma of the cooking food.

"I think it's ready," she whispered with a small smile.

"Smells like it," Zidane chuckled, before he pulled out a couple of bowls, and tossing them to Ignis and Gladio. "Right, go ahead and scoop up however much ya like," Zidane quipped, scooping some of the hotpot in one bowl, which he handed over to Luna carefully. She thanked him politely, and then Gladio and Ignis got their servings, but neither said much except for their thanks for the meal, due to feeling like they'd intruded on an intimate moment between the two.

Eventually, they finished eating, and Luna smiled at Choco, who was still sitting near Zidane. "Will Choco be okay if we drive off after this?" she asked.

"Yeah, he'll be okay," Zidane said with a nod, before he whistled. Choco looked over curiously with a chirp. "Choco, you can go home ahead of us, alright? We'll be okay."

"Kweh~" the Chocobo chirped, nuzzling against Zidane's cheek, making the blonde laugh before petting his beak. After getting one final pat to the neck, the Chocobo turned and ran off.

"Well, we'd better get back before Noctis and Prompto decide to search for us themselves," Luna giggled.

"Agreed," Ignis nodded. "Gladio, would you mind getting the Regalia ready? We'll be there soon."

"Sure, Iggy." With that said, the larger beta headed off in the direction of the Regalia, while Ignis waited until he was gone before speaking.

"I approve of this, you two. I can't guarantee everyone will, but I know Noctis and Prompto do, as well," he told them, helping to pack up.

Zidane glanced over from kicking out the fire, before he chuckled and shrugged. "Eh. Sticks and stones and all," he quipped casually. "We'll manage, I'm sure." Ignis sighed, but the trio was soon heading to the Regalia, where Gladio was waiting in the driver's seat.

"All set?" he asked as they climbed in after putting the stuff in the trunk.

"We're ready to go back," Luna nodded, taking Zidane's hand in hers as they sat in the backseat.

"All right, then let's get back."

X*X(1 Month Later)X*X

Well, it was officially the day of the wedding. Prompto shivered lightly as he felt the cool air on his back through the material of the back of his dress.

"Remind why I chose to wear a dress again?" he mumbled to Kuja, who was busy making the last minute adjustments to the dress.

"I don't know, dear. You tell me. Though I can think of a few reasons," Kuja said without looking up from adjusting a few of the seams at Prompto's waist. "More comfortable…softer fabric…a little more legroom…" At this point he paused to smirk. "Easily discarded…"

"Now I regret asking…" the blonde muttered, his face bright pink at the insinuation. He just couldn't wait for this to be over. He loves Noctis with every fiber of his being, but he was nervous as hell to have to be in front of so many people. Granted, he knew they were going to have a week to themselves after this, for a sort of honeymoon, but he wished they didn't have to do this in the first place. Why couldn't the bond mark be enough?

Kuja merely hummed with a smirk still on his face as he climbed to his feet, carefully adjusting his own dress and slipping back in his heels (since he'd taken them off to be able to properly kneel on the floor). "Well, I don't think there's much more to fix now."

As he said that he turned Prompto around to face the mirror. The dress was milky white, but the material was thin enough that the skin beneath gave a slightly pinkish hue, and it had pure white, curled branches sewn along the front and back. It fit snugly around his chest (courtesy of Kuja for insuring it wasn't too roomy), and it followed the shape of his stomach well. Which was good, since his stomach was steadily starting to show. The dress didn't have any actual sleeves, and was secured with a single clip at the back of his neck. It was a fairly simple dress, topped off by a white flower crown resting on top of his head (something Kuja had decided to add on a whim).

The one good thing about the whole thing was that he didn't have to walk in heels. The pregnant male swallowed thickly, almost wanting to cry at how he looked. Surprisingly, he liked it. Not enough to wear a dress as often as Kuja, but he liked it regardless. Soon he would get to see Noctis's reaction, and he was almost excited to do so.

"Thank you, Kuja," he murmured, grateful to the older omega now. "He's going to love this."

"I'm sure he will," Kuja said with a small smile on his face as he gave the younger omega a small side hug. "Also…" He paused briefly to pull out a handkerchief from his glove, dabbing at the blonde's eyes. "Do try not to mess up your makeup, alright? Las thing we want is to have it running down your face."

Suddenly, the music began, and Prompto felt his nerves hit him, mercifully not in full force. "I'm getting nervous…" he confessed.

"Easy now," Kuja murmured, rubbing the shorter male's shoulder. "Remember what Zidane told you? Just 'eat the crowd' and pretend it's just the two of you. 'Kay?"

Prompto nodded, and took a deep breath, exhaling after a couple of seconds. "Let's go," he murmured. Kuja allowed a smile as he held out his hand, palm up. After Prompto had placed his own on top of Kuja's, the taller omega began to walk, leading Prompto out of the room.

The smaller omega focused on walking as he made his way with Kuja to the altar, almost worried by the stares from the crowd. He forced himself to ignore them, though, in favor of looking at his soon-to-be husband. And when he saw the look in his alpha's eyes, he knew he'd made the right choice in attire.

Noctis was watching him with a look that was a combination of surprise, pure shock, and full-blown wonder, and if he wasn't trained in keeping his expression calm, his jaw likely would've been on the floor rather than his current slack-jawed look.

As Kuja finally reached the steps at the end of the aisle, he raised his hand toward Noctis with a small raised eyebrow and half a smirk, which the prince chose to ignore as he reached out. And as Prompto's hand slid into his own, he let his fingers curl around the blonde's hand securely, before he gently tugged him up the steps as Kuja moved away again.

Prompto smiled softly, simply focusing on his alpha as they walked the final few steps to the altar. When they arrived, the priest was waiting for them with a fond look on his face, as though he'd been waiting for them for a long time.

"Are you ready?" he asked them, and Prompto nodded.

Noctis nodded as well, his gaze flicking briefly to Prompto as he did.

"Very well then." The priest cleared his throat lightly before addressing the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to…" His voice began to fade in Prompto's ears, as he was busy gazing at Noctis with loving eyes. He refused to acknowledge the crowd watching them, and he gave a slightly nervous smile to his alpha.

The raven merely watched him back quietly, a smile of his own gracing his face, as his hands lightly squeezed Prompto's, still held securely in his own. Soon, it came time for them to repeat their vows to each other, and then Noctis was to put the ring on his omega.

Mikoto, being the ring bearer, came over with the cases, and flipped open the first for Noctis to take. The raven smiled at her in thanks, as he took out the ring from the velvet cushion. After taking a soft breath, he took hold of Prompto's left hand and slipped the ring on his finger tenderly.

The blonde almost teared up at the sight of the ring. It was so beautiful, he couldn't help but love it. Prompto then did the same for the ring he was presented with, sliding the band onto Noctis's left ring finger as well. Finally, the moment came.

"Do you, Prompto Argentum, take Noctis Lucis Caelum to be your husband and alpha?" the priest asked.

"I do," the omega whispered, trying to hold back his tears.

"And do you, Noctis Lucis Caelum, take Prompto Argentum as your husband and omega?" the priest asked the raven.

"I do," Noctis said without a moment of hesitation, gently rubbing his thumb along Prompto's ring.

"Then by the power invested in me, I pronounce you man and husband. You may now kiss," the older male told them, and Prompto smiled softly as his face was gently held in a gentle pull towards Noctis.

The kiss that Noctis placed on Prompto's lips was soft and tender, and even though it lasted for no more than a few precious seconds, it felt more intense than any other kiss they'd shared.

"People of Insomnia, I now present to you your newlywed royal family!" the priest declared, and Prompto gave his new husband a watery smile. He really had to fight the tears back now, even as he stood next to his alpha and held his hand.

Noctis smiled back at him, and tenderly reached up to do away with the tears forming in his eyes, but in such a way that, to those watching it looked like he was merely moving aside his bangs. And slowly, almost unnoticed, he mouthed, "I love you, Prom."

The blonde smiled sweetly at the taller male, grateful. He knew he wouldn't be able to be as discreet as Noctis about saying it, so he settled for lightly squeezing his hand for the time being. Now to mingle with some of the people before they went to their room for privacy.