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Chapter 16

Noctis Lacerda was trained and conditioned by his family to deal with countless different situations. He could thrive in more environments than Zootopia could provide. He could take pain far beyond that which would shatter the mind of other animals. He was impossible to interrogate, threaten, bribe or persuade. His guard was always raised and he would not bat an eye, his heart would not even flutter, if the world suddenly exploded around him. All this his family had done to him.

And yet, stood next to his brother on the top floor of Moonlight, Noct was stunned. His mind was blank, his training gone, his instincts quiet as he stared across the bamboo grove. It was as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist beyond that wall of plants. The only thing that mattered right at that second was a female white wolf sat in the middle of the secluded courtyard.

Lunette was wearing a black and white striped sleeveless top with a long black skirt. It was an outfit Noct was very familiar with, she had worn it for many of their dates, and it only served to put the panther even more off balance. He had almost forgotten that there were two other mammals still present.

Nick had walked in quite casually beside Noct however all of his senses were in fact focussed on the panther beside him, waiting to see just how Noct was going to react. When he saw the sheer surprise and shock on Noct's face the fox couldn't help but grin inwardly. Unconsciously however he found his gaze moving off Noct to see just what he was looking at.

Nick saw Lunette and instantly knew what exactly had shaken his brother up so much. However, before he could even think up some sort of snarky comment, Nick's line of sight drifted slightly to the side.

Judy was wearing a short-ish purple dress, with an open back,p that matched her eyes. A small part of Nick remembered her mentioning it from one time she went shopping with Fru Fru. Another small part of him made a note to thank Fru Fru the next time he saw the mafia daughter. Mainly, though, Nick was stood in a very similar state to his brother next to him, his jaw slightly open as he stared at the beautiful grey doe.

Judy had been talking with Lunette, the wolf had noticed their new company first, and Judy grinned as she saw the shocked expression on Lunette's face. Looking in the direction Lunette was staring dazedly, Judy saw that Nick had successfully brought his brother as planned, Judy's gaze began to flick between the panther and the wolf's surprised expressions.

Judy was practically bouncing in her seat in excitement that the plan was working so far. A flash of silver caught her eye as she looked at Noct and her eyes drifted down to his wrist. A sly grin appeared on her face when she saw that Nick had actually managed to get a pair of handcuffs onto his brother. The silver handcuffs contrasted against the black of Noct's shirt and Nick's jacket.

Jacket? Judy thought slowly as she finally noticed Nick.

The bunny's eyes widened as she took in the full appearance of her partner. He was dressed in full black suit and tie and, despite how he used to dress in those garish shirts, the fox dressed up rather well.

Cheese and Crackers thought Judy as she came to the sudden realisation that Nick in a suit… was hot.

The silence lasted for nearly a full minute. By this point the shock to Noct's system had somewhat worn off. Not enough for him to be thinking properly however but enough for his conditioning to kick in. This situation was putting him under stress, therefore the first reaction is to escape said situation.

Despite how entranced Nick was with the rabbit in front of him, he was still paying as much attention to Noct as he could. The panther's dazed expression, the slight trembling, the twitch of his tail, all told Nick that he needed to be ready.

Noct's eyes were wide while his pupils were narrowed, he held out his left paw as black claws extended, and his arm flashed towards the handcuffs. There was a tinkling as broken pieces of metal hit the floor and Noct went free.

Nick had started moving the moment he saw Noct's arm shake, his hand reaching inside his jacket for his tranquiliser pistol. He had it out and ready just as Noct tore the handcuffs to shreds. The blank expression in Noct's eyes was one that Nick had not seen in a very long time.

This wasn't in the plan Nick thought worriedly I didn't think it'd hit him this hard

Nick pulled the trigger but Noct's now free arm snapped up and grabbed the dart out of the air an inch from his fur. Noct shuddered slightly and some insight returned to his eyes. He glanced down at the dart held in his hands and then further down to the second dart sticking out of his leg.

"It's been a while since the Lacerda in me took over" Noct said shaking his head and pulling the dart out of his leg.

"NIIIICK!" came a pair of shrieks "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Nick and Noct both looked over to see Judy and Lunette staring at them in horror, the two males suddenly realised that what just happened may look slightly circumspect to anyone who didn't know the secrets of Broken Clockwork.

"Don't worry" said Nick putting away his pistol "It'll take a good three or four more of them to put Noct down"

"He's right" yawned Noct "one of those is just going to make me a bit tired"

Judy and Lunette just stared at the two of them in disbelief as Nick and Noct glanced at each other while scratching their heads.

"This wasn't quite how things were supposed to go" Nick whispered to his brother.

Thankfully something happened to interrupt the awkwardness of the situation. A door opened on the side of the wall nearest the bar and Albert walked out carrying a tray with two cocktails on it. He picked up on the slightly tense atmosphere but didn't say anything as he walked over to Nick and Noct.

Nick took his drink thankfully and savoured a mouthful of the delicious blueberry flavour. Noct downed his Brandy Alexander in one and put the glass back on the tray.

"You okay, Noct?" asked Albert in concern as he glanced at Judy and Lunette.

"Not right this second" whispered the panther "I think I need a few more drinks"

Albert nodded before focussing on the females "Anything for you ladies?"

Judy's tail wiggled as she sat up a bit straighter.

"Do you do Fuzzy Ca-"

"She'll have a Carrot Colada" interrupted Nick with a grimace, he wasn't going to allow a repeat of the last time Judy got drunk.

"Pornstar Martini for Bruma" said Noct "since I know you'll make it correctly" Albert nodded and headed back through the door "Oh, and I'll take some Moonlight as well" Noct called after him.

There was silence again for a moment after Albert left, nobody was really sure what to do, before Lunette walked forwards. Nobody was in any state to be hiding behind a mask at this point and the wolf's emotions were clear as day on her face. And each and every one Noct saw was like a razor slowly cutting away at his heart.

When Lunette finally arrived in front Noct she seemed to have settled on anger, something Noct could not blame her for. Her arm drew back sharply and Noct simply closed his eyes, he knew he deserved whatever she was going to do to him.

But no blow came, instead Noct felt a gentle paw on his cheek, but right at that moment the panther would have preferred a stinging slap.

"Do you- did you love me?" came the voice that Noct had dreamt of for months.

Lunette's mind had been churning as she approached Noct, thousands of questions and feelings all vying for supremacy. But as she found herself stood before him everything seemed to fade away, it was so simple really. There was only one thing that she wanted to know, the one purpose she had followed after him for… it wasn't his reasons, though she very much did want to know why he left. She just wanted to know if Noct actually loved her.

Noct shuddered at the words and opened his eyes to stare into Lunette's icy blue ones. And that was all the answer she needed. The pain, the sorrow, the guilt, the love… the expression in his eyes was exactly the same one she saw in the mirror whenever she was alone. He still loved her, it was still her Noct, her mate. She couldn't help it, Lunette caved slightly in relief and tears began to roll gently down her cheeks as she smiled slightly.

"Why did you go?" She asked quietly.

Everything looked like it was going okay, at least that's how it seemed to Judy, Nick however had a slightly different perspective. Simply from the slight trembling and twitches of his tail, Nick could tell a lot about how Noct was feeling. Nick could see the fear, the self-doubt bubbling up inside his brother, when faced with that question.

"Let's all sit down first" said Nick clearing his throat "then we can talk as much as anyone wants"

Noct nodded gratefully and moved to sit on one of the sofas, Lunette followed and sat next to him, Noct hesitated slightly before putting his arm around her. Lunette hesitated as well before leaning in to him, it had been too long since they had been together. Nick went and pulled a large armchair round to face the two of them and sat down in it, it was obviously designed for a far larger animal as Nick took up barely half the space.

There was a flash of grey and purple and suddenly Nick found that he had company, the chair was plenty big enough for both him and Judy, but she was pressed up against his side all the same.

Noct took in the look of panic on his brother's face and chuckled slightly, he felt a little more relaxed.

"So why did you leave?"

And now he no longer felt relaxed at all. Nick could see the panic rising in his brother.

"I can do the talking if you want" said Nick slowly "I was always the front man, remember"

Lunette glanced between Nick and Noct in confusion before a little light of understanding shone in her eyes.

"You know each other?" she asked Nick.

"Know each other?" scoffed Nick "Noct is my brother, he lived here in Zootopia for nearly seven years when we were teenagers before he had to leave around a decade ago" Nick couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Lunette's face "yeah, small world huh"

"So, this isn't the first time you've disappeared?" said Lunette quietly looking up at Noct.

The panther winced painfully and his right-hand claws dug deep into the arm of the sofa. Nick could practically smell the fear pouring off his brother, something he had never thought possible, and spoke up.

"Noct I can-"

"It's fine!" said Noct forcefully "I'll talk… if someone deserves to know about all this then it's my Bruma"

Noct relaxed his grip on the tattered arm of the sofa and wished that his next drink had arrived. Unfortunately there was no sign of the tapir yet so he just took a deep breath and wondered just where to start with this whole sordid affair.

"What's my name?" Noct quietly asked Lunette.

"Noct" she answered rather confusedly.

"My family name"

"Clement"

"No it isn't" said Noct sadly as he gazed into his mate's eyes "and that's where all the problems start"

Lunette felt a coldness inside at Noct's admission, she hadn't even known his real name, but something about his expression and tone of voice made her feel that there was something much bigger behind this.

"My name is Noctis Lacerda" began Noct slowly, each word seemed to be a struggle to get out "a fact that I regret every moment I am still alive. Judging from your expressions you have never heard of my family have you, Bruma? JJ?"

Lunette and Judy shook their heads, Judy didn't even mention the new name Noct had for her, though she filed it away for later.

"And I hoped you never would. I am the family head, the ultimate weapon, and sole survivor of the Lacerdas. One of the most successful groups of assassins in the world."

Noct smirked sadly as Lunette and Judy's eyes widened, Judy glanced at Nick but couldn't read anything from her partner's face.

"I will say this now however" said Noct sternly "I have never killed anyone in my life, nor will I ever, for two reasons. One, I despise the very thought of taking a life, I'll explain about that later. Two, it is the greatest insult I can think of against my family"

Lunette frowned, Noct's line of conversation was going all over the place, but so far his family seemed like a bad thing.

"Midnicampum Holicithias"

Judy's ears twitched at the name.

"Or as some people refer to them, Night howlers" Noct spoke in a very monotone way, this was edging on memories he did not like to touch "They are nothing new, the plants have been around for countless years. Do you really think that nobody noticed their effects on mammals before now? The Lacerda family can trace its ancestry right back to when predators and prey did not coexist, when tribes lived in the jungles and on the plains. We were shaman, wise ones, medicine men, we knew of Night howlers hundreds of years ago. The family's knowledge of plants and chemicals is ground breaking and decades ahead of the rest of the world… was ground breaking, hopefully most of the records have been destroyed along with the rest of my family"

Judy grabbed hold of Nick's arm and looked up at him. The fox was grinding his teeth, something she had never seen him do, clearly this was getting to him just as much as Noct.

"That was the reason I left Zootopia all those years ago, my family had angered too many people, or something stupid like that, and they were wiped out. I was a loose end even after I had escaped my family's clutches and people wanted me dead. That put Nick and our friends in danger so I left, for their safety and to see for myself that the Lacerdas were finally gone. Only then would I really be free… where was I going with this?"

"Night howlers" rasped Nick uncomfortably "so I'm guessing your childhood"

"Ah, right" Noct grimaced but looked down at Lunette beside him "I had the great misfortune to be the first child conceived to the previous head of the Lacerdas after their most controversial line of research was complete. They wanted the future of assassination, the ultimate killing machine, a member of the family moulded from birth to be nothing more than a weapon… You know what happened with Asra?"

Judy and Lunette nodded slightly absentmindedly as they tried to keep up with everything Noct was telling them.

"Well, from the moment I was born, I was… treated with a similar sort of drug, amongst many others. My body has gone far beyond the limits that should be placed upon it. I am stronger, faster, more durable, more agile, I have faster reactions, more powerful senses. My mind processes the world around me far faster and in more detail than is safe. In fact, none of those skills or attributes I just mentioned are safe. Not physically, my body was grown to withstand that sort of force and pressure. It's a mental issue, having a body like mine, just my senses alone are enough to drive a normal mammal insane"

Judy flinched and looked up, Nick's hackles were raised and he was growling slightly. Judy gently reached out and stroked his side, the touch rousing her partner from whatever he was thinking, he glanced down gratefully before focussing back on his brother. Noct reached into his pockets and pulled out a packet of black pills, Judy thought back to the ink-like hangover cure Nick had given her.

"If I do not take these Suppressors at regular intervals I would likely not be able to cope. And that is saying something as the various drugs administered to me throughout my childhood have dampened my sense of pain, as well as many of my emotions" Noct sneered "Feelings would simply get in the way, or so my family believed. Before I left the Lacerdas, more like escaped, and came to Zootopia, I did not think I was capable of feeling anything other than hatred. I cannot sleep for more than two hours at a time, and that will be enough for my body to function for up to three days. I cannot sleep during that time even if I wanted to. And when I do sleep my instincts create dreams of being savage, of living wild, of hunting and killing… I have killed enough in my sleep to never wish to do it in the waking world. My body is incredibly resistant to drugs of all kinds due to having been exposed to so many, it is ridiculously hard for me to even get drunk"

As if on cue the door that led to the back of the bar opened once more and Albert walked out with a more laden tray this time. Again, the atmosphere was tense but it felt a little different to the tapir. Albert didn't say anything and silently handed out the drinks, he could read the situation enough not to want to interrupt anything.

Judy tried her Carrot Colada and meeped in happiness, it wasn't quite a Fuzzy Carrot but, since Nick had ordered it for her, it was probably not quite as powerful. Lunette took a small moment appreciate the fact that her cocktail had been made properly, vanilla vodka, passion fruit puree and liquor, sugar, passion fruit to garnish and a shot of champagne on the side. Noct set his Brandy Alexander down and looked at the shot of Moonlight in his other paw.

"This stuff" said Noct before downing the clear shot of alcohol "is the first drink I've found that can actually make me drunk within a reasonable amount of time. If I have to just drink these" Noct reached out for his cocktail "as much as I love them, it would take me a very, very long time to feel anything. All this my family did to me with their chemicals and their drugs and their experiments…"

There was silence as Noct stopped talking and sipped his drink. Nick already knew everything about Noct so none of this was a surprise however Judy and Lunette seemed a little shell shocked. Lunette opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally deciding on the words to use but…

"That was just the physical effects on my body from their drugs" continued Noct "This was compounded with brutal training that began as soon as I was big enough. This pushed my body far beyond any normal limits and caused me nothing but agony, this was on top of the drugs which, before I was about 9 and my sense of pain began to dull, also caused tremendous suffering. Along with this I was taught every possible skill an assassin may need to get close to their target and my memory is near perfect so I have not forgotten a single thing that occurred to me during my childhood years. I was conditioned…"

Noct glanced over at Nick, the fox had calmed down a bit with Judy at his side, but Noct could still see the simmering resentment in Nick's eyes. And he knew that this was mirrored in his own eyes as well.

"I was never considered a real Lacerda, I was a weapon and that was what they tried to make me. Hypnosis, drugs, all kinds of methods were both used on me and taught to me. My emotions, already diminished by the drugs, were eliminated. I would have become essentially a robot. In the end, though, their plans backfired. The main base of the drugs used were Night howlers, it was the ferocity and power of a savage animal that they wanted, but with the control of a sane mammal. As I said, my instincts were pushed into overdrive, and they actually protected a little part of my psyche. By the time I turned 16 I had overcome the conditioning my family tried to use on me, not that they knew. And then came the last two straws that broke the camel's back so to say"

Noct finished up his drink and looked at the glass. He reached out his other paw and extended his claws for everyone to see. They were hard to make out, matt black like his fur, and wickedly curved and sharp. Noct reached out slowly and rested one claw on the lip of the glass. In one smooth motion he pushed down and around and scooped out a chunk of glass. His claw passed through it like butter leaving a perfectly smooth cut. Noct held the glass out to Lunette who took it cautiously and ran her fingers over the cut.

"Once I turned 16 it was decided that I was ready for practical training, real world application of my skills… I was to kill. To this end, since my body had finished growing, they did one final thing. They coated each of my claws with some kind of alloy, as if it was one last taunt that all I could do was kill"

Noct held his paw up and just looked at his claws for a long moment before retracting them.

"That was enough, despite everything they had done, my entire upbringing only cemented a desperate desire not to kill anyone. So, for the first time, I used my training and I… vanished. I'm sure they searched for me, but I left no trail just as I was taught, and after some time they gave up. I'm sure they didn't want to, they had poured far too many resources into me, but they had also taught me too well, they never found a clue about me"

"When Noct arrived in Zootopia" said Nick attracting everyone's attention "I was the first person he met, saved my life actually, in more ways than one. Before now I was the only other person to know this much about him, and before you ask, it's all true. I've seen what Noct can do enough to know that fact"

Noct could see the hint in Nick's eyes as the fox spoke and knew that Nick had guessed what he planned to do. He felt a burst of warmth at his brother's action but he was riding the tiger now, he couldn't stop. Noct waved a paw and could see Nick's ear droop slightly, Judy could read the fox and looked back at Noct. Lunette's eyes had never left the panther in the first place.

Noct reached up and rubbed his eyes while muttering about 'Catalysts being a pain in the ass'. Judy could feel Nick stiffen next to her, but before she could wonder what was wrong Noct opened his eyes again.

Now it was Judy stiffening next to Nick, feral slit-like eyes stared back at her from the couch opposite, and, unlike with Asra, now she felt a danger just like when they faced Mr Manchas back in the Rainforest District. Lunette's eyes widened as she stared into Noct's savage ones, despite the shock and the heavy atmosphere they brought she didn't actually feel scared. It was like she was wrapped up in the night, Noct right now actually made her feel safe and protected.

Within a few moments, however, Noct's eyes trembled and returned to normal. He blinked heavily a few times before he sighed lightly.

"As Nick said, everything I have spoken of is true, that was the easiest way to prove it to you" said Noct suddenly feeling like he was running low on energy, not physically but mentally "I- I was going to stay in Los Antleres but the one time I wasn't going to move on… word got out that there was a Lacerda in the city. You should know the danger associated with that name now. I had begun to feel things again during my time in Zootopia but I had never felt love till I met you Lunette. I'd only just found these emotions when suddenly you were at risk because of- because of me" Noct paused and tried to put what he was thinking into words "I have been trained to remain calm in any given situation but just the thought of you being hurt because of me… well I didn't know how to cope and my conditioning took over, when I came to it was three days later and I was nearly a hundred miles away… so that was why I left… I'm sorry, but I was so scared about what could happen if I got in contact with you again… but you deserve to know just what sort of monster I am…"

Noct closed his eyes, he wasn't in any fit state to be watching how the others were reacting to his tale, though he knew exactly how Nick felt. He felt Lunette stir next to him and he trembled slightly, Noct was rather like his brother, they both had problems opening up to others.

Noct felt a gentle touch on the side of his muzzle and froze at the touch, he didn't know what this may mean. When he then felt a gentle touch on his lips though Noct's eyes shot open. Lunette kissed him slightly harder now that he had opened his eyes before she pulled back. The wolf leant her forehead against Noct's and began to murmur to him quietly. Nick couldn't make out what they were saying but Noct did something Nick had never seen before, he cried.

Judy's powerful hearing could however pick up Lunette's words and the bunny suddenly felt like she was intruding on a very intimate. Judy quietly climbed out of the chair and tugged at Nick's paw, the fox looked down and picked up what she meant. He slipped out of the armchair and followed after Judy to give Noct and Lunette some privacy.

The hyena had gone from sitting at the bar so there was plenty of space for Nick and Judy to choose from. Albert picked up the fox's nod and set about making some new drinks. Now that they were alone, relatively, everything started to crash down on Judy. A paw rested on her shoulder before her mind could run in too many circles however.

Judy looked over to see Nick watching her concernedly and she felt a little giddy under his gaze.

"You okay Carrots?" asked Nick quietly "I know that was a lot to take in"

"You could say that" said Judy slightly exasperatedly "though now I can see what happened to the handcuffs... did you expect all this to happen? Since you obviously knew about all this"

"Well not everything went as planned" said Nick as he accepted their drinks from Albert "but yes, I expected most of that, I figured that it was about time Noct talked about it all again. And if he really is serious about Nix then he had to tell her"

"I guess" sighed Judy, she regretted not moving her chair closer before she climbed up, she couldn't reach Nick from here "And all this is real?"

"Of course," smirked Nick as he sipped his Blueberry Daiquiri "Extreme physical training from a young age. Advanced knowledge and application of chemistry, biology and psychology. And a little black panther magic"

Judy giggled as she stirred her Carrot Colada. Nick suddenly realised that he was sat next to Judy, Judy who looked stunning. He hurriedly took another sip of his drink. The fox, normally so smooth, wasn't sure what to talk about. Unbeknownst to him, Judy was also struggling with the fact she was sat next to Nick, Nick who looked extremely handsome in a suit.

Albert was keeping an eye on them from the corner of the bar and couldn't help but grin to himself as he cleaned a glass. He'd seen thousands of mammals sat at his bar and he could read a situation just as well as the young Mr Wilde. And it was specifically Mr Wilde that Albert had not expected to see acting like this.

Though he may not openly show it but Albert cared deeply about Nick and Noct. So it was with great interest that he began to pay more attention to Judy. He'd already pieced together the relationship between Noct and the wolf from the two times he brought drinks. So he hadn't been expecting to see something happening between the fox and the rabbit. But happening it was, not that Albert thought either of the two had noticed much yet.

Judy and Nick slowly relaxed, the alcohol may have helped, and they soon didn't even notice how long they had left Noct and Lunette together. It was only when Judy checked her watch did they remember that, unless they left now, they would probably not make it into work on time the next morning.

Obviously having the same thought as Judy, Lunette and Noct reappeared as well. He had his arm round her waist and they both had smiles on their faces. Judy had to refrain from clapping, clearly things had gone well while they'd been alone.

After saying goodbye to Albert, and leaving some money (they couldn't take advantage forever), the four of them took the elevator out of Moonlight. Judy and Lunette chatted a little while Nick and Noct were quiet, though they communicated just as much as the two females. Nick felt nothing but happiness for his brother as Noct filled him in on a few of the things from the evening.

Judy had driven Lunette however now it was clearly understood, if unspoken, that Noct would drive his mate home. Which left Nick catching a ride home with Judy, something neither of them was complaining about. Noct had of course parked in the little carpark located to the right however Judy had ended up parking further down the road to the left since Nick had never mentioned that Moonlight had parking.

Saying goodnight, though three of them would see each other again in the morning anyway, the four split up into two groups of two and headed for home.

Lunette stared at Noct's car in shock, she'd noticed the sports car the moment they entered the carpark but never thought that it might be Noct's. Back in Los Antleres, between Lunette's wage and the money Noct provided, the two of them had lived quite comfortably. However their income had been nowhere near enough to afford something as luxurious as this car.

Noct felt a little burst of pride at the expression on Lunette's face. He held open the door for her to get in, it took a few moments before Lunette shook her head and climbed inside. Lunette was just as stunned by the interior of the car as she was by the exterior and barely noticed as Noct pulled the car back onto the roads.

"How did you afford this?" she asked slightly dazedly.

"Well, as the last Lacerda, I technically have control over all the resources the family left behind in various places" said Noct not taking his eyes off the road "which is quite a lot. On top of that I worked with Nick for around seven years in the past and our services were rather expensive"

Lunette stared at Noct with wide eyes.

"What? Are you that surprised that I'm actually very rich?" asked Noct with a chuckle "I need some directions as well"

"Oh, left at the next turning" said Lunette quietly "I guess I am, you know how we lived back in Los Antleres, you just seemed… like someone who wasn't rich"

"That's because I wasn't" said Noct as he continued to follow the directions Lunette kept giving him "Unless completely unavoidable, I don't really want to touch anything left behind by my family, and the money I earned with Nick is all stored here in Zootopia. So when I was living with you that was it, you saw everything I had. And that short time with you was one of the happiest periods of my life, no offence to Nick, even when we were low on funds"

Lunette wiggled in her seat with joy at Noct's words, if she wasn't sat down her tail would be wagging. There was silence for a few minutes apart from the directions she was giving Noct. He wasn't driving particularly fast, subconsciously he wanted the journey to last longer.

"So, Judy and Nick huh?" said Lunette rather nonchalantly.

Noct, for his part, showed no reaction as he carried on driving and glanced at his mate from the corner of his eye.

"You noticed that too?"

"I've been working with Judy, and occasionally Nick, all week. It's pretty obvious if you spend any real amount of time around the two of them. What do you think about it?"

"Well, you know I don't judge about that sort of thing, I mean look at us. And I like JJ, she's good for Nick, it's just…"

"Just what?" asked Lunette with a frown.

"Look Bruma, you now know all about how broken I am" said Noct wondering how much to mention since Nick wasn't present "well, my brother is just as broken as I am in some ways. I don't want to go into it any more than that, let's just say things will be a bit tricky for them, but I'm all for the two of them"

Lunette was going to say something else when Noct pulled the car up, Lunette glanced out the window and realised that they had already reached her apartment. Just as she realised that, the door opened, Noct had already gotten out and walked round to her side of the car. Shaking her head, the wolf climbed out and took Noct's proffered paw.

Lunette's apartment was located on the first floor of the building so it did not take them long at all to reach it. Noct hung around as Lunette cursed the finnicky key a few times before the door finally opened.

"I know you have work tomorrow" said Noct scratching the back of his head "So I'll let you get some rest"

Noct turned to go when a white paw shot out and grabbed hold of his red tie. Noct paused and turned back to look at Lunette. His eyes widened slightly, there was an intensity to her gaze that he had not seen since Los Antleres.

"In!" she said quietly but filled with a dogged determination as she pulled on his tie "Now!"

Noct's mind drifted back to the brief period he had lived in Los Antleres with Lunette. Before he realised it, he had been dragged into her apartment and the door shut behind him. Not that he was complaining in any way… he had missed his mate terribly, and now he could show her just how much.