Disclaimer: AyaKagami does not own Final Fantasy XV or any of the characters registered under a trademark, those belong to Square Enix and their respective patent owners. So please, don't try to complain about the use of said characters or world. This is a simple AU written by a fan and I sure as hell have no intention of making it into a for-profit kind of thing. Just sit back and enjoy.
ALSO OF NOTE I AM NOT DEAD! I just have had MASSIVE writer's block going on but I am slowly getting into the groove of writing again. I thank you all for reading this and hope you like the new addition to the story!
Weskham had stopped his meal preparation hearing what Ignis had told him. They both had known Cor for as long as either one of them could remember but to be so vulnerable to the person that Cor viewed as his successor said so much to what was going on in the Marshall's mind.
Weskham knew Cor was always a little tougher on himself than others would be on him because of the fact that he was the youngest person to ever join the Crownsguard. He also knew that Cor was still trying to 'atone' to the rest of the guard by taking any and all missions he could after bringing Prompto back with him from Niflheim as an infant; even though both Regis and Clarus told him he had nothing to make up to them for, he simply did the right thing and rescued an infant child from a fate worse than death.
"I honestly don't know what to say to him," Ignis said quietly. It brought Weskham out of his thoughts and made him realize just how valuable Ignis was in Cor's eyes. It made the older man smile with pride, for he trained Ignis in the art of close quarters combat and helped sharpen his mind to be the refined machine it is today. Cid had sent him a message the day after he met Ignis to remind Weskham how similar they were in mannerisms, "Reminds me of you with that overly formal attitude, makes him stick out like a sore thumb if he isn't beside Reggie's boy."
"I think you should be proud to know Cor has such confidence in you, I know for sure that Gladiolus will inherit his father's post as Shield and possibly command the Kingsglaive until he names a person he trusts to lead the glaive while he commits to his duty as Shield. You have the sharpest mind in a generation that proves to surprise and surpass every expectation held of you. Cor knows there is no one more suited than you, of course besides his highness, to rebuild Lucis."
Weskham went back to his meal preparations, holding his hand over Ignis', "Why don't you go sit and celebrate with your brothers? I can handle something as simple as this." The older man smiled at the younger, pride beaming from his demeanor causing the younger of the two to leave the kitchen.
Ravus looked at the suit hanging on the closet door. It was a black suit with a silver shirt and a blue vest, the color of the sylleblossoms of Tenebrae. Biggs and Wedge had been thorough in their work, making sure that the flower for his jacket was a fresh sylleblossom. The inside of the jacket also was the beautiful hue of blue that reminded him so much of home. He and Aranea had already returned to the makeshift base to begin preparations for their rendezvous with Lunafreya and the others for the wedding ceremony tomorrow evening. Loqi was asking plenty of questions but thankfully had yet to realize what exactly was going on when it came to the pair.
Flashback
"I beg you, commander, please," Loqi pleaded earlier that evening. "Please explain to me what is going on. I am your faithful subordinate and would be more than willing to assist in anything you need rather than watching you have to turn to that mercenary Highwind." Ravus looked up from the paperwork pile he was neglecting the last few hours to see the pleading look on the young soldier's face.
'For as long as I could remember being in the imperial army, I have always had Loqi following my every move like a lost puppy. He never truly had betrayed me when I had done things that were against Izunia's orders but at the same time he rarely ever stuck his toes out of line to help me either. At least with Aria, I know she wouldn't betray me when it comes to Lunafreya eloping with Noctis tomorrow. However, he has that stupid childlike look on his face.' Ravus thought to himself.
Ravus let out a deep sigh, trying not to show his absolute annoyance with the young man, "I have already given the task to Highwind. There is nothing that you can do when it comes to assisting me at the moment. Besides, even if you did assist me with this matter there is no real guarantee that you will not report back to Chancellor Izunia just to spite myself or Commodore Highwind."
Loqi felt his shoulders drop at the insinuation that he would dare betray the fallen prince but said nothing to show a more mature side of himself. However, he did nod and make a mental note not to mention anything to anyone to add to his loyalty. Perhaps if he didn't press the older man, he would be rewarded with more reliable tasks.
"As you command sir," Loqi replied neutrally. "I will return to my post and await an assignment from you in the near future." He saluted the other man and left the room without saying another word, causing the silver-haired prince to raise a carefully manicured eyebrow. "That was oddly easy to deal with. What is he up to?"
Meanwhile…
"Hey boss, don't you think it's a little weird that Chancellor Izunia hasn't been around lately?" Biggs found himself asking as they were gathering the last details of the list Aranea had given them. Although she did not want to admit it out loud she had to admit internally that it did perplex her to see that Ardyn wasn't bothering Ravus more than that interaction a day ago. The usual quota included being present at dinner and two more meetings before the fallen prince went to bed. She knew the bastard had always done it to irritate Ravus but knew better than to say something in order to avoid bringing more conflict into their already chaotic lives.
She had pulled away from her musings when she heard a knock on the door. Quickly but efficiently, the two men had grabbed what they were working on and ran off into her bedroom at the quietest she had ever seen the pair move. She got up and made her way to the door, the color draining from her face at the sight of the man at the door. "Speak of or think of the devil and he shall appear…" she stated with a long frown on her face. "Good evening Commodore."
Aranea felt the blood in her body go cold, 'Damn Biggs and Wedge, sitting there and literally summoning the damn chancellor when we REALLY do not need him to be around.' Taking a deep breath, she exhaled, "What can I do for you, Chancellor?" Ardyn grinned at the slight annoyance in her voice but did not make a note of it.
"I was wondering if I could perhaps borrow you for some of your time this evening? Right now, if at all not a bother or inconvenience to you?" He felt himself snarling slightly, his scarf hiding it from her view. She rolled her eyes in irritation, "Can it wait till morning? I've had a long day of busy work and honestly, I would love to avoid the overtime spending it with you. Especially if I have to deal with you." Now Ardyn knew she was not doing anything of major importance aside from running errands with Ravus, "Commodore, I do believe you are lying to me. You are spending all the time in Eos with Ravus as of late. Please try to humor me with a better lie."
She felt the agitation kick in at this point, "If you are gonna stalk my every move during my shift, why do you feel the need to point out if I am lying or not? What the hell do I look like to you? Your wife?" This caused the chancellor to snort, "I can confirm that you are not my type of woman. While I do enjoy an intelligent woman, I would rather that they did not have so much sass or attitude as you do. I would just prefer people to be honest with me. Is that so much to ask?" he found himself purring.
Aranea found herself shivering in abject disgust, "Now I am super pissed off. What the hell do you want?"
Ardyn smirked, "Well for starters, let us discuss the upcoming nuptials of the lady Oracle and the King of Lucis…"
'Son of a bitch…'
Flashback (Insomnia, 2 years ago)
"Dinner with your father was a great idea to do this time, I finally feel like I understand you so much more," Stella stated calmly as they entered Noctis' royal apartments in the Citadel. Noctis, on the other hand, had felt nothing but tension the minute his father walked into the room and had dinner with them. He could sense the unease in him, Regis was hard to read for many but Noctis knew his father, he was furious. Like a quiet but calm before a fierce storm that would rain down from the heavens. Noctis was honestly surprised that his father's magic hadn't struck the Citadel during dinner.
Here they were, having dinner with the KING of Lucis and Noctis had to act as if he was not the crown prince the whole time. He had begged his father to go along with the farce, even having the staff address his father by Lord (which made all the blood leave Noctis' face at the flicker of anger flash across his father's face after hearing his name rather than a simple majesty). Nonetheless, they both made it through dinner without any real crazy incidents, Noctis knowing he was so doomed after this evening was over.
"Well now you've met dad, so maybe we not do that again anytime in the near future? I already feel bad enough having asked him to step away from work to sit with us for dinner. I would rather not make it a habit right now," Noct stated in a semi-relaxed state. This caused Stella to giggle at his words, but she was so fascinated by the small flat that was his room. The furnishing was all black and the walls had a shine to them, as to be expected from black granite. She noticed a doorway that led to a massive four-poster king-size bed and felt the envy run through her at the size and look of it, 'Fit for a princess or a prince.' She looked over at Noctis who sat down in a nearby arm chair. He had undone the tie he was wearing and unbuttoned the top two buttons.
She felt her heart skip a beat at how mature he looked sitting there, his head back, eyes closed and Adam's apple exposed. He appeared to be sleeping. She wanted to say something but found herself unable to as the imagery he provided sitting there was all she needed to be left speechless. "Noct, you look so…" she found herself whispering to herself. This caused him to turn his head slightly towards her, peeking an eye open, "So what?" Was his answer. She felt herself melt at the tone of voice he used, low and sultry. Blushing she turned around and faced the bedroom again, trying to compose herself as she found the words to answer him.
"I was just thinking about… how mature you looked. Sitting there in that chair, with… well with your shirt undone like that. I honestly wasn't expecting you to appear so mature just sitting there," she finally said with more confidence. What she did not realize was that as she spoke, Noctis slid out of his seat and walked up behind her. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "What makes you say all that?" He was not expecting her to lean back against him and let out a small moan. 'All I did was ask her a question, is it possible that she wants something more than she is saying?' Noctis found himself wondering.
"Stella?" He asked quietly.
"Yes?" She whispered back.
Gently wrapping his arms around her in a soothing embrace caused her to moan a little louder than before. He arched his brow as he leaned into her ear again, whispering "Are you looking for something more than just the hugs and gentle kisses between us? If you are, I am willing to do so but not without your consent." She nodded at his question but said nothing, closing her eyes and enjoying his embrace. "Noct…" was her only answer.
This caused the prince to blush deeply but he was unsure of what to do in order to initiate some more intimacy. He had seen plenty of porn but he knew that sex was nothing like that. He also had heard Ignis and Gladio in passing talking about the intimate moments between Gladio and his girlfriend but he usually walked away before hearing any details. He honestly was nervous but he also wanted to have some kind of intimate moment with Stella; it was their one year anniversary together and the most they had ever done was kiss and hold hands. He felt like he was denying her something more.
"You don't have to be nervous, it makes me worried that you don't want me," Stella said as he was pulled from his thoughts. This caused him to let out a chuckle, "It's not that I don't want you, far from it actually. I just do not want to mess this up. It's our first time being intimate together and I'm sure you have expectations of me as a man." She smiled at his words, grateful for his consideration of her feelings. "I have no experience with this kind of situation. Most guys who wanna get with me always wanna have sex and that's all. You're the first man to ever want to get to know me, to see me, and be with me because I'm me. You never once pressured me into anything, you make me feel safe. How is a girl supposed to react to such kindness?"
He turned her around so she faced him, "I would hope you feel safe and can talk to me about anything. That we have enough trust and respect for each other that we can communicate without any worry or fear that we would hurt the other." This caused Stella to blush and put her head down to try and hide the blush. Noctis lifted her head gently with his hand, leaning in at the same time. She closed her eyes as their lips connected in a gentle but passionate kiss. She felt him pull her in closer to him, wanting the connection to further than a gentle kiss, to which she willingly reciprocated.
Noctis was more than willing to oblige her desire by pressing his tongue along her lower lip, silently requesting access to her mouth. Their tongues clashed causing the couple to moan in unison. Noctis felt the heat in his chest lower down to his stomach, knowing that the kiss was getting heated between them and that he wouldn't be able to hide it from her for much longer. If he did not make a move on Stella now, he would surely kick himself for it later. Pulling apart, Noctis took Stella's hand into his own and raised it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of her hand. Stella watched him intensely, wondering what he was up to. By now, Noctis had closed his eyes, holding her hand to his mouth, not moving at all, the silence palpable. She leaned in closer to their connected hands before whispering, "Are you alright? Am I making you feel as though we are rushing things?" This caused him to chuckle, "No, I'm worried if I rush things too quickly that I will either ruin it or that it will be over before we know it."
This simple phrase causes her to smile, "Well then, let's see where the moment takes us. I trust you." Lowering their hands, she wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him in for a second kiss, this one far more heated than the last. He leaned forward, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling his other hand to her face, taking a step in her direction. She blushed and followed his lead, going through the bedroom threshold again and towards the bed. She separated herself from him when her legs hit the edge of the bed and she fell back. She closed her eyes as he came down for a third kiss, this one with an intensity she had yet to feel from him.
"Noctis…" she moaned.
She opened her eyes to a dark room with a dim light coming from through her curtain of her window. Sitting up she realized that it was nothing more than a dream- a dream of a moment in her life when she truly felt that she was in love with the man of her dreams. She understood the trigger of her emotions behind it all, after all, she had been running from her heart for two whole years. She realized this evening that she had made a horrible mistake in letting him go and even worse holding out hope that he would return to her. Seeing Noctis with the Oracle confirmed everything she ever feared, Noctis was no longer in love with her the way she was with him. It broke her heart into pieces but she knew her pride was the primary cause.
"I wish I could see him again, and tell him I am sorry and that maybe, just maybe, we could…" she found herself saying out loud but stopped herself before she allowed those carnal thoughts to consume her. She was not a woman who broke up happy relationships, Layla was right, she was still hung up on Noctis and she blew her chance of ever making it right with him...