As my little one gets older and more mobile and more active writing is getting harder since I have to chase her around the house all day, but I do the best I can to keep bringing you guys updates and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Also, this chapter ended up a lot longer than usual (for this particular story) and I do hope you enjoy the extra-long chapter to compensate for the delay!
Lunafreya left the delivery room to allow the new parents some privacy, rejoining Noctis and their troupe of nervousness. She gave a shy smile and sheepish wave when they noticed her return, Noctis nearly stumbling over himself when he rushed to his feet asking for news, sitting when she reassured him and the others that the baby appeared perfectly healthy, and Aranea as well.
"A mini-Ignis. We're all in trouble now" Gladiolus chuckled, shaking his head. "By five that kid will have a better vocabulary than me and start lecturing me on theoretical particle physics." Prompto laughed, nodding in agreement.
"So what name did they settle on? They've been all secretive about it." Prompto asked.
"Sentis," Lunafreya answered. Everyone answered various murmurs and statements of their approval for the name choice.
"As soon as you year that name you think to yourself, yup, that's specs's kid." Crowe commented.
"Should we all go invade yet?" Prompto asked, rifling through his shoulder bag debating which lens or filter would be best for a newborn photo-shoot. "I want some pictures!"
"I'm fairly certain Aranea may ensure we find your name in the obituaries of the Insomnia Times should you appear in that room with your camera, regardless of your intent to snap a photograph of her or her child." Lunafreya chuckled, certain that the last thing Aranea would want at this time was any visitor apart from her husband.
"Yeah… maybe you're right. But I want to see my unofficial nephew!" he pouted.
"Give the girl a chance to breath, she just rocketed a mini human out her baby canon!" Crowe shouted. "Imagine trying to push a-"
"I'm gonna cut you off right there." Gladiolus interrupted, sure she was about to give a metaphor that would give him nightmares for a month.
"What? You're pretty damn interested in the part that puts a baby in a woman, can't handle it coming out?" She quipped back. Gladiolus groaned, shaking his head. "guess it's a good thing you never knocked anyone up, you'd pass out in the delivery room!" She added, getting a middle finger in reply.
"Man… Iggy's always been taking care of us now he's like, literally a dad." Prompto mused, swinging the subject after swallowing back his own squeamishness. Noctis flinched when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket, scoffing at himself before reaching to pull the device out, thumbing his password after seeing an unread message from Ignis on his lock screen.
[Iggy] Noctis, I wish to introduce you to your nephew.
"Always straight to the point." Noctis chuckled, "Hey guys I'll be back Iggy wants me to meet the little alien."
"Careful, he might slap you if he catches you calling his perfect child such." Lunafreya teased, giving him a smile and a go ahead gesture.
"I'll try not to come back with a black eye." He waved, promising Prompto he would take plenty of pictures on his phone to show him while he waited his own turn. He walked down the hall to Aranea's delivery room, rapping gently on the door and poking his head in. A nurse at the door had advised him how exhausted she would be and he answered Ignis had asked him to come down the hall. He waved to his friend when he saw him turn his head, a small bundle of blankets in his arms.
"Noct," he greeted, tilting his head in a come here gesture. Noctis followed the prompt looking down at the newborn in his arms. "This is our Sentis…" he spoke in a quiet voice. It was already apparent this was clearly his child, or perhaps his lifelong friendship with Ignis was skewing his opinion. His hair, if he had any, was hidden beneath the iconic blue and pink hospital cap that matched the stripes on the white blanket wrapped around him.
"He's so tiny." Noctis marveled, and suddenly hoped Ignis wasn't about to ask him to hold him. How was he supposed to hold something so small and fragile? Will our own one be this small? He wondered, and couldn't help the creeping nervousness.
"Don't say that to Aranea or she'll remind you he didn't feel small on the way out." Ignis joked, getting a laugh from Noctis,
"I bet!" He turned his head to said woman who was fast asleep in the bed, curled up on her side. A distant part of his mind envisioned Lunafreya lying in a hospital bed, exhausted from delivering their child, but the image felt far away and dream-like. As if it were only imaginary and not his impending reality. He wondered how the ever-involved Ignis handled having to be helpless during the delivery, able to do little more than provide support and watch.
"You want to hold him?" Ignis asked, Noctis putting on a nervous smile.
"Nervous to be honest." He answered. "I mean you know me and fragile things." Ignis shook his head, standing slowly and deliberately, tilting his head at the chair for Noctis to sit down. The Prince sat, licking his lips and reached out for the bundle Ignis was handing to him.
"You need some practice Uncle Noct." He joked. "He's so perfect…" Ignis stated, marveling down at the gift Aranea had given him as he passed Sentis to Noctis. By the Astrals he wished he could see him. But he could feel him, smell him, hear him. He had traced Sentis's tiny features, thumb finding the outline of his ear. Aranea had described to him the things he couldn't detect on his own, the newborn's eyes and hair. How he was almost pale enough to put Lunafreya to shame. The newborn shifted inside his swaddle, cooing for a moment before settling back to sleep leaving the men letting out a sigh of relief that they wouldn't yet have to wake the sleeping Aranea to feed him.
"Congrats man," Noctis answered back, holding the baby close to him, looking down at his tiny scrunched features. "looks like you."
"Until he opens his eyes, he has her eyes. And hair."
"Hey take a picture with my phone, Prompto will kill me otherwise… umm or take it with your phone and text it to me." He corrected, knowing Ignis's phone had adaptive buttons and a face-finding feature to make snapping pictures possible if he followed the device's prompts. He pulled it out as suggested, more than happy to record his pride and joy. He aimed the phone at Sentis, swiveling it around until the phone chirped and began telling him left and down until it finally stated face centered and he pushed a button.
"I can't tell if I got you or him, it only tells me when it finds face." Ignis admitted, holding his phone out to Noctis.
"Perfect! Man… that's like, a miracle phone huh?" Noctis wondered. Ignis nodded, smiling a bit.
"I feel less pathetic with it." Noctis winced at the word, but Ignis continued speaking before he could protest. "I hope I can give Sentis everything he needs and deserves." It was not the first time Ignis had admitted this concern to Noctis, and he knew it would not be the last. He sighed, letting out an amused chuckle.
"Your eyes haven't stopped you yet" He reassured. "Besides, doesn't Aranea think your scars are pretty much the sexiest thing ever?" he spun, and now it was Ignis's turn to laugh.
"So she states." Sentis began to stir again, and Noctis furrowed his brows, wondering if has holding him right and if he was the reason the baby was beginning to stir.
"Besides, I've never seen you look so happy." Noctis added to his previous statement, lightly rocking the infant.
"I've never been so happy." He answered with a smile. Noctis heard the slight waver in Ignis's voice, but chose not to comment on it. Ignis had his head down, hitting various buttons and listening to the voice on the phone with the volume set to minimum, and after a few moments put the phone back in his pocket.
"I sent the photo to you, as well as the others. I feel that Lunafreya may have her heart melt inside her chest at the image of you holding a baby." Ignis joked. "I would say that you face the risk of baby-fever, but that ship has sailed."
"Not just her." Noctis smirked. Noctis felt a moment of frustration at the stereotype that only women could get baby fever or feel excitement at the prospect of a baby. Ignis was the happiest he had ever seen him, and he recalled the overwhelming joy that had turned him into a ball of tears when Lunafreya had revealed her pregnancy to him. Sentis stirred again, his cooes turning into early whimpers, lips puckering at the air. "am I doing this wong?" he wondered. He had been sleeping so soundly in Ignis's arms.
"I imagine that he may be growing hungry. "
"Oh." He was relieved that it wasn't him, but felt a bit surprised that he was hungry already.
"I should give him back then." He suggested.
"Let me wake 'Nea then you can hand him to her." Ignis turned and reached for the bedrail, gripping it with one hand and reaching out with the other. He awkwardly brushed Aranea's nose, moving his hand higher to brush some hair from her face, "My darling… I do hate to wake you, but I must." She mumbled in reply, opening her eyes, looking up at him.
"Ugh… huh?" she asked, momentarily dazed.
"It appears Sentis may be hungry." Ignis explained gently, frowning a bit that he couldn't allow her to rest more after her ordeal. She was determined to breastfeed, and thus he was forced to wake her.
"Oh." She answered, yawning and stretching. She shifted in the bed with a groan, "Ugh gods it feels like someone kicked me in the crotch with steel-toed boots!" she complained. Noctis felt his face immediately burn, the heat spreading down his neck, eyes staring straight forward.
"Umm Noctis is here, to meet Sentis." Ignis suggested. Aranea realized that he was indeed sitting in the chair beside her, and felt her own cheeks heat up a bit, issuing an apology for her blunt statement. Noctis shrugged and gave her an awkward smile reassuring her that it was fine, admitting he couldn't imagine how uncomfortable she could be. "The nurse had mentioned to call her if you needed something for pain."
"Would it be bad for Sentis?" Aranea asked.
"I do not believe they would have made the offer should it be dangerous for the baby." Ignis provided, and the answer seemed to satisfy her as she admitted that she would be very amenable to the idea of something for her discomfort.
"Umm I'll leave you guys to it. You must be tired so me and Luna should go home." He stood, very slowly, holding Sentis close to his chest as he did so. He took one last glance at the baby who was whining more than before, holding him out to Aranea who was happy to reach out and pull him towards her, a broad smile washing away the fatigue written into her features, eyes bright as she cooed and whispered to her newborn son.
"Thank you for coming." Ignis stated, reaching out to pull Noctis into a hug with Sentis secure in Aranea's arms. Noctis returned his friend's embrace,
"Like I'd miss it." He swallowed back a pang of guilt for the delay and tried to simply be grateful he was able to make it at all. "Congrats again man." He pulled back, a smile plastered on Ignis face. He gave him one final grip on the shoulder before parting from the room. Everyone in the waiting room was chattering about how adorable Sentis was, wishing they had more than one picture to ogle. The others wanted to visit Ignis and Aranea as well to meet, the new ball of poop and puke, as Gladiolus had called him, but agreed to wait until the next day after Noctis reminded them all of how exhausted the new family was.
The limited sleep she had gotten during the night struck Lunafreya once her and Noctis returned to the Citadel. Her muscles were protesting her long day, and despite her desire to spend the remainder of the evening relaxing in the sylleblossums garden with a book their bed was calling her. She had stated as much to Noctis, asking if he would be joining her and he promised he would after he got himself something to eat.
The bed was neatly made by the Citadel staff, one of the books she was reading lying on her end table. She had a habit of leaving them scattered about, so no matter where she took root she would have something to read. Noctis had often teased her about how she kept track of being in the middle of so many books at once, and inquired about gnomes running about the Citadel when he had found a book by her bed, his desk, on her chair in the gardens, the seat of the Regalia II, and one left on the kitchen table. Usually she only worked on two books at a time, and was surprised herself she had left so many lying all over the place. The one currently beside the bed had a bookmark a bit more than three-quarters of the way through and she was sure she would finish it tonight and hoped she would have the energy to get another one from the library unless she ended up falling asleep.
She opened the book up, a smirk coming to her face as she remembered where she was in the story. Deeply immersed in a particularly tense scene, only partially noticing when Noctis entered the bedroom. She only looked up when he shouted her name, and she realized he had probably been trying to catch her attention without startling, her sudden jolt telling him he wasn't very successful.
"Sorry, you know how I get once I get deep into a good book," she offered in way of an apology. He chuckled at her, shaking his head.
"Figured you were hungry too to so brought you something." He ignored the way he had startled her, knowing by now that calling attention to it by apologizing would only make her face glow red and she would become defensive. She had always been quite jumpy, and it was at its worst sometimes when she was distracted.
"Oh, thank you." She smiled, realizing her exhaustion was so overwhelming she had forgotten to feed herself. Come to think of it, when was the last time she had eaten? Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall, putting the bookmark into her book and setting it aside as Nocits came up to the bed.
"Don't spill it on the sheet Ignis would kill me." He smirked, handing her an over-sized bowl filled with a savory smelling broth, and peering inside Lunafreya noticed that it was egg-drop soup, one of her favorites.
"Oh, thank you!" she repeated. She took a bite, ignoring Noctis's warning about the heat.
"How do you eat food that hot?!" he shook his head at her, his own tongue burning at the thought.
"I've always quite enjoyed my food piping-hot. Perhaps a side-effect of growing up with the climate of Tenebrae." She shrugged, taking another bite. The cooks of the Citadel had come to know their Queen and her preferences quite well, and this particular batch of the soup was not disappointing.
"Well if you can still taste anything I also brought you a sandwich, a big bowl of soup isn't really enough when you're eating for two." He suggested.
"Misnomer," she retorted. "I don't have to double my calories, but you aren't incorrect in stating that I must eat more than a bowl of soup." She admitted. Her appetite had always been fickle, a trait worsened by the pregnancy and the ever-looming threat of morning sickness. The timing of it always felt random, and she wondered how it got its moniker since it didn't seem to ever actually strike in the morning. She recalled Aranea telling her as much early in her own pregnancy. She shrugged it off, assuming that perhaps the two of them were just anomalies. "What did you end up eating?"
"Umm some of that soup, you really got me sold on the stuff. The leftover chicken from yesterday, and a sandwich. And maybe some cookies." She looked at him expectedly, quirking a brow at him and he couldn't keep a straight face. He wanted to tease her and pretend he had finished them off, but damnit that smirk on her face always got him to break. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small bag holding two cookies for her as well. At least she would never chide him for indulging in dessert, her own sweet tooth could almost put his to shame. At least I eat plant-matter! She would always yell at him defensively when he teased her for opting for something sugary.
"Trying to fatten me up?" she asked with a slight chuckle. She wasn't sure she could even eat all the food he had brought, but for the sake of the speck of life inside of her she would certainly try. She wanted to give the speck as good a head-start in life as she could, determined to follow all of Ignis's overwhelming amount of advice, Aranea's warnings of the parts of pregnancy that were less-than-enjoyable, and the inevitability of Noctis's anxiety and overprotectiveness.
"How else can I get someone as hot as you to stick with me?" he teased. She almost choked on a bite of soup, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth and burning her throat slightly as she forced a swallow, nose burning from the broth that backed its way near her sinuses as a result of laughing with her mouth full.
"Indeed, how?" she asked. Noctis chuckled, patting her firmly on the back sure that the crimson on her cheeks was more a result of her embarrassment than the near-choking. A couple light coughs and a rather un-ladylike snort to try and clear her sinuses and Lunafreya was able to stop coughing and let out a genuine chuckle. "Are you so sure about that hot comment?"
"Hey now we're back in the same league!" he teased, thumping at his chest triumphantly, "my plan worked!"
"Your plan was to call me hot, get me to choke on my food so I would snort like some animal, all to reassure I would not go running off with Prince Charming?" she quirked a brow, "quite convoluted. It contains more than one step, are you sure this was not Ignis's doing and you came up with this on your own?"
"Hey!" he shouted, crossing his arms and shaking his head at her. "Well now my feelings are hurt." He pouted, jutting his bottom lip at her. She tried to keep her eyes locked on the bowl in her hands, but her gaze flicked over to him, smirk pulling at her lips. "My heart hurts, can the Oracle fix that?" he asked, dropping himself dramatically beside her, fists over his chest.
"I suppose I shall have to make it up to you." She admitted, "though you best let me eat while my food is still hot."
"What? I wasn't doing anything." He insisted.
"Oh, I am sure your mind is filled with nothing but purity." She rolled her eyes. He laughed, hitching himself up on one arm,
"I don't think I'll ever get used to sarcasm from you. Fifty years from now you'll say something sarcastic and I'll have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not hallucinating."
"Think you can put up with me for fifty years? Quite confident you are." She smiled, a blush touching her cheeks at the thought of him lying beside her so many decades from now, sharing the same teasing banter that they were now.
"Well you have eternal patience somehow, so I know even if I drive you out of your mind you'll stick around. Or maybe just out of sheer stubbornness. And you've clearly cast some kind of magic on me because I'm completely enamored."
"And I assure you, I am as well my scruffy Prince." she smiled. Noctis pulled his phone from his pocket, flicking through it and choosing a movie to watch while Lunafreya ate, telling the device to stream to the television in their bedroom. He selected the first movie he found that he knew they both enjoyed, hitching himself up to lean against the head of the bed as Lunafreya enjoyed her meal, somehow finishing the soup, sandwich, and cookies without leaving a trace of food on the bed. It was almost as if she had never committed the grievous crime of eating in bed. He wasn't sure she could be messy even if she tried. She set her dishes aside on the end table, her slight frown evidence of her distaste for being too exhausted to bring them back to the kitchens, or even to place it in the dumbwaiter across the room. The ache in her legs had grown, and she knew she had little endurance left now that she had gotten herself to bed. Wanting to change her expression, Noctis scooted closer to her, an arm winding behind her and tugging on her waist.
"Hmm?" she hummed at his touch, turning her head to meet his gaze. He mumbled a quiet I love you beside her, words muffled as he brought his lips to her shoulder, tugging lightly at her shirt. "Mmm… I don't think this is comfortable to sleep in." he commented.
"While I quite like where that thought may lead, I find myself a bit too exhausted to chase such a line of thinking." She admitted, cheeks flushing as she began to imagine the things she wanted to do with him.
"Still, pretty sure this isn't the most comfortable thing to sleep in," he insisted, hitching himself up. He held himself up with one arm, leaning towards her and cupped her cheek with his other hand to brush his thumb along her cheek. His eyes closed a moment after watching her close hers, head tilting to meet his lips, her sigh tickling his cheek. She leaned more against him, a second kiss lingering longer than the first. She shifted, feeling the tugging at the shoulder seam from the form-fitting shirt she had on.
"You may have a point about this shirt." She admitted.
"Let me grab you something." Lunafreya smiled and whispered a small thanks, turning her head in a vain attempt to hide her flush that she lacked the energy to pull herself from bed to fetch it herself. She watched him cross the room to their dresser, opening the drawer in which she stored her sleep clothes. She wanted to suggest one of his shirts, cheeks heating up further at the thought of making her request. She adored wearing his clothing, feeling cozy and protected in the loose articles that smelled like him. The way he would tell her how damned good she looked in black, the contrast of wearing a large baggy shirt against her usual fitting clothes simply hot by the contrast. But she retained her request for herself. She smirked when she saw he pulled up a black satin set of short-sleeved pajamas, purchased a size too large, and she was sure that it was intentional.
"That looks perfect." She commented when he held it up, an inquiring look on his face. He smiled and almost skipped back to the bed, leaping up on it and leaning over her,
"Well, this tired Queen should allow her King to assist her." He started, thumb hooking under her collar, "she has had a long day." He added.
"I suppose a tired Queen should not protest aide from her dear King," she answered back. Her smile reflected his, dropping her arms beside her head as he shifted up, his fingers working the buttons of her top. His lips brushed against her collarbone, and she cursed her fatigue. His kisses trailed up, his tongue dancing against her skin between playful nips against her neck, his fingers slowly working the buttons of her shirt in a dance she wasn't sure if he was struggling with it, or being purposely sensual.
He sat back after spending a prolonged period with the last button, letting out a frustrated grunt. She sighed as his lips ceased their ministrations against her neck, a light giggle in her throat as she watched him sit back, nearly cross-eyed as he stared at the last button, letting out a frustrated really?!
"Perhaps you require some assistance?" she asked. But before she could lift her arms he straddled her, hands gripping her wrists to push them harder against the bed,
"I did say I would help you change, I'm gonna stand by that. So don't you move those hands." He insisted. He leaned down to interrupt her reply with a kiss, moaning slightly against her mouth. Lunafreya tried to relax further against the sheets, giving herself up to Noctis's attentions as he fumbled for several more seconds with her button, pushing the shirt back roughly once finally getting the stubborn thing undone.
"Easier to do that if you let me sit up." She teased, sticking her tongue out at him when he wrinkled his nose at her. She sat up, rolling her shoulders back to allow Noctis to push her shirt away, tossing it over the edge of the bed. She made a mental note not to trip on it in the morning, their stone floor not fond of any form of fabric resulting in more than one fall from the royal pair when stepping on discarded clothes. I must remember to request a rug, at least for under the bed she allowed a practical thought to interrupt their moment until his lips crashed against her neck again, his nip hard enough to make her yelp in surprise,
"Hmm… was that a good yelp?" he asked,
"You'll leave a mark," she answered, cheeks heating up as she felt a bit embarrassed to admit that yes, she had indeed liked the unexpected zing.
"Wouldn't want that," he suggested, but nipped her again, her yelp this time a gasp, arching her back slightly, shoulders shrugging tightly, turning her head towards him to push him away from her neck. "Worried you'll make the other ladies jealous? Can't blame them who wouldn't want the emo-King with a limp?" he teased.
"Just as all the men swoon at the Oracle with circles around her eyes and the endurance of a newborn anak?" she quipped back. They shared a light chuckle, long ago foregoing reassuring each other over their shortcomings.
"Does my anak wish to sleep in this bra or can I struggle it off too?" he asked. She mocked an exaggerated irritated expression, nose wrinkled and eyes squinting. She hesitated as if she were pondering the question but she sure as hell wanted out of her bra, and was more than happy to encourage him to do so. She bit her lip, watching him remove it and again cursed how exhausted she felt, wanting nothing more than to cave to desire but remaining sitting up to slip her sleeping shirt on. Her pants took far less effort to remove, his fingers sliding agonizingly slow down her legs. He paused at one point to plant a kiss atop her thigh, and the inside of her knee, casting the pants aside.
Noctis knew how she liked to sleep, and hooked his thumbs under the waistband of her undergarment, wishing she wasn't quite so tired since he felt like he was teasing himself worse than he was teasing her. He could feel the tension in his pants and had a feeling he would need a cold shower before changing and crawling into bed himself, questioning the wisdom of his decision to help her change her clothing this way. But he loved the taste of her skin beneath his tongue, cheeks glowing with pride at the two faint red marks on her neck that he was somewhat sure would be gone by morning. He thought about tasting more than just her skin, taking a moment to look at her, but when he caught her eye he could see the fatigue she was fighting against, and the way she pressed her knees together shot down any lingering thought he might have. He promised to himself he would give her one hell of a morning, and awkwardly helped her slide the pants up to her waist, letting her grip the waistband to set it comfortably, tying it tight so it wouldn't fall off her the moment she stepped out of bed.
"I love you," he whispered, looking at her now clad in black. Because godsdamn he loved her in black. He flushed at his possessive pride, enjoying the sight of her in his family colors and the marks he left on her.
"And I you," she answered, words garbled with a yawn. She shifted onto her side after she reached for the blankets, tugging it up to her shoulders. The fact she slept under the comforter was a clue to how exhausted she was, she typically slept only under a sheet, but growing chilled when she let herself grow overtired.
"You should spend the day in bed tomorrow…"
"I've been in bed all evening and feel myself drifting to sleep, yet it is hardly late." She answered back. Her eyes were closed, speech quiet. He slipped into bed himself, shifting close to the center of the bed and reached an arm around her. Once his palm reached her waist Lunafreya shifted back, and felt Noctis shimmy further onto her side of the bed to envelope her fully in his embrace, her back pressed against his chest, his arm wound around her and his knees tucked up behind hers. Sometimes she would shift his arm when the weight of hit aggravated an old pain from long-healed rib fractures, but tonight there was no pain, and without that old pain to tug her back to old memories she drifted off to sleep, safe and content.