Guest: I can't PM you, but I wanted to thank you for your continued support! I hope you continue to enjoy this story :)


"Are you sure you don't mind?" Noctis asked Lunafreya as they began to walk back towards the Leville. After the cable car reached the station he admitted to feeling anxious about returning to Gladiolus and Iris to check on them. A quick text sent to Gladiolus had assured him that he wouldn't be intruding on them if he returned.

"It's been a long day, I assure you I have no qualms with returning to the hotel." She assured him again, giving him a smile to try and assuage his doubts.

"I really don't know what I'm supposed to say to them. My dad is alive because theirs is dead." He admonished, gripping her hand tighter, releasing a nasal sigh. Lunafreya allowed the silence to hang between them a moment to give him time to gather his thoughts. "I know Clarus was my father's shield, but I dunno, Gladio is my shield and yeah he protects me but that doesn't mean I want him to die for me. I've known them almost my whole life. Gladio started kicking my ass when I was a kid. And after I followed Iris one day when she snuck out of the Citadel gardens we became fast friends. Clarus was like an uncle in a way. I saw him once in a while, and he was always nice to me." He felt like he was rambling, and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, fingers tugging the hair lightly.

Lunafreya turned her head, her smile dropping. She returned the squeeze to her hand, and a shift of their hands let them twine their fingers together. A slight tug pulled her a little closer, and she tensed up, trying to resist the tug; but after several moments she realized no one was staring at them, and let Noctis pull her a little closer so he could drape an arm around her waist.

"I'm sure just being there for them helps." She broke the long silence, and it took Noctis a few seconds with a furrowed brow to connect her statement.

"Gladio is tough to read. But I guess you're right. If the roles were flipped I guess there's nothing they could say to make me feel better." His thumb began to brush against her waist, the small shirt bunching slightly, her skin cool under his touch. He felt her tense beside him and he drew his arm back. "Sorry." He apologized, "I didn't mean to freak you out." She bit her lip, wanting to assure him that she was fine, trying to will herself to relax.

"The view from the cable car was incredible." She gave herself a few seconds to steady her voice. "And I suppose I can't argue with more private moments with you." She nudged him with her shoulder, looking up at him with a small smile. "If you're willing to bear with me."

"Well you seem pretty willing to put up with my overrated ass." He answered back, getting a light laugh from her.

"So it all balances." They shifted to talking about the view of Cleigne, and and Noctis began to tell her about the other regions of Lucis that he was just as excited to see as her. He mused if they would see the sylleblossums fields together again, and she wondered if she would have the chance to see Insomnia; but kept the thought to herself, unsure of what he had seen at that hilltop. They arrived at the Leville, and Lunafreya realized her knuckles were red from kneading her fingers during the walk. She held her hands clasped when they sat in the lobby, hiding her hands while Noctis texted Gladiolus to say he had arrived and waiting for the reply before getting onto the elevator to find the room he told them he was staying in. They arrived at the door, and Noctis had hardly knocked when the door was pulled open.

"Hey!" Iris stood in the door way and leapt at him, causing him to stumble back a step.

"Whoa, hey Iris." He returned her hug, chuckling lightly at her enthusiasm, glad to see her somber mood appeared to have lightened slightly. Though he expected that for the next several weeks her moods would wax and wane. She pulled back from the hug and tilted her head into the room, the royal couple following her inside.

"Where's the rest of the nerd herd?"

"Still walking around, or stuffing their faces. Seriously, how is Prompto so thin?"

"That dude is so hyper he practically vibrates even in his sleep." She answered back, getting another chuckle from Noctis. "Surprised he's not even skinner. I'd kill for his metabolism. I gotta actually watch what I eat to watch my girly figure." She twirled her finger in the air, other hand on her hip, sashaying further into the room and adopting a mocking high-pitched tone for her last four words.

Noctis sat on the edge of the unoccupied bed, Gladiolus sitting in the center of the other one with his back against the headboard. A closed book with a piece of paper sticking out of it was beside him, and he gave a wave to the royal couple as they came into the room. Lunafreya sat on the edge of the bed beside Noctis, trying to maintain proper distance to give an illusion of decorum. She watch Iris throw a cushion at her brother, calling him rude for being so quiet, and she couldn't help the bitter curiosity of how it would feel to grow up surrounded by so much love. She had her notebook with Noctis, his rare visits, and her strained relationship with her brother. After the murder of her mother, that was all she had. The rest of her family fled Tenebrae, and she wasn't sure if any of them made it; she had never heard from them afterwards.

"Where's Jared and Talcott?"

"They went out for lunch too to give Gladio and me a minute. They must have wanted to walk around a bit." She paused, tilting her head and flushing when she looked over at the young woman sitting on one of the beds, hands folded in her lap. "Wait is that… the Oracle?" She asked, eyes widening as she looked up at Noctis.

"Yes, I am." Lunafreya put on her best smile, loosening the grip she had on her own fingers, giving her a polite nod.

"Yeah, this is Luna. Luna, Iris. I don't think I properly introduced you guys," Noctis gave Lunafreya a smile, and she flushed slightly as she returned his smile then looked up at Iris,

"It's a pleasure to you meet you."

"I knew the news was full of crap! Everyone I know was saying it, no way the Oracle is dead! Wait till I tell everyone. They'll be so happy" Iris blushed herself, clapping her hands together once before folding them behind her back, bouncing on her heels.

"We're trying to stay under the radar. If the Nifs catch wind of where she is they'll send everything they have." Noctis answered her, grimacing slightly at the way her face fell. "You can tell people she survived, just… don't tell them how you know." He added, avoid the glare that he was sure would be painted on Lunafreya's face.

"Makes sense then why they'd brag about her being dead… deflate everyone's hope, and it would be easy to sniff out any rumors of her appearance."

"Not if I kill every damn Nif who gets within ten meters of her." Gladiolus muttered from the bed.

"It speaks!" Iris yelped, both hands slapped against the top of her chest.

"Hey, what about me? You're my shield, Luna's got Crowe." Noctis teased.

"I'm enough of a badass for you both but I guess I can used to having backup." He quipped back. Lunafreya felt an impulse to defend Crowe, but allowed them to banter at each other uninterrupted, folding her hands back together. Gladiolus looked between Iris and Lunafreya, and decided it best to keep his comment about the royal's being attached at the hip to himself.

"With you and Crowe guess we're immortal?" Noctis shrugged,

"Hey don't turn into one of those cocky I am a God Kings of old! Remember the old stories?"

"Iggy rubbing off on you? 'Bout to give me a history lesson?"

"Are you sure you two are just Prince-and-Shield and not married?" Iris interrupted their banter, then turned to Lunafreya tisked, "g-guess the wedding's off if he's already hitched?" she continued, rocking on her feet a bit.

"Funny." Gladiolus replied, picking up his book and mocking as if to throw the object, causing Iris to shriek and duck, leaving her brother snickering on the bed. "I get you every time with that."

"Because you used to actually throw books at me when we were little!"

"I was never little. I descended from the clouds as the glorious god I am."

"Oh really? I'm pretty sure I have that picture of you with braces on my phone…" Gladiolus sat upright, brows lifting as he lifted the book again,

"Wait wait you have a picture of that?!" Noctis turned to Lunafreya with a broad grin on his face, pointing a finger at his friend. "This guy had braces for two years. Pretended training in silence would make me a better fighter and kicked my ass without saying a word those whole two years to hide his braces! He's only text me about lessons!"

"Yeah! Right here!" Iris held up the phone, giving it a victorious wave. She handed the phone to Noctis despite her brother shouting his protests, and Lunafreya couldn't help leaning over to glance at the screen, unable to suppress the small smile at the sight of an awkward early-teen Gladiolus in what was clearly a forced smile,

"Damn Gladio, your brow is so scrunched up you look like you have a unibrow."

"And constipated." Iris added.

"Dad made me take it, insisted he wanted one of me with a smile. Of course the jackass picked the week after I got my braces. Had to be on purpose." Gladiolus shifted back into the bed, drumming his fingers on the comforter; Iris's smile fell and she took the phone back from Noctis. She flicked through the phone, her brows furrowing together.

"I don't think I have many of dad. I know I don't have one of the three of us together."

"I have one of the four of us…" Gladiolus answered her after a long silence. "I know you don't remember our mother, but it's the only family picture I have. Not sure everyone ever sat still long enough to take another one. You sure as hell liked to run off the moment you learned how to run." Gladiolus chuckled, pulling out his phone and tapping at it. "I was always afraid of losing the picture so I uploaded a digital copy to a storage site. Guess it's a damned good thing I did…" He wondered if the picture was still intact in its frame in his small room at the Citadel north of the training grounds, or if it had burned with the rest of Insomnia.

Lunafreya noted the way Noctis deflated beside her at the mention of the pair's mother, and wondered if it the blight was what took her; for many years it was the leading cause of death back in Tenebrae and neighboring Nifleheim if rumors were to be trusted; official sources were never truthful. She made a mental note to ask Noctis about it later. After several moments Gladiolus handed his phone to Iris who tilted her head at it,

"He looks really happy in this one. He usually looks all constipated. Must be where you got it from."

"Classy. Classy girl. Should a noble lady really talk like that?" he taunted, earning him the irritated scrunched expression he was aiming for, winking at her.

"You're suck a dick Gladio."

"Wait didn't you used to call him Gla-dick-io for a few years when we were kids?"

"He punched my first boyfriend!" she snapped.

"You were thirteen!" Gladiolus attempted to defend, but Iris merely laughed, making a rude hand gesture.

"You were what, eleven? When you started dating that girl… "

"He commented on your…" he paused, scrunching his nose and sticking his tongue to the roof of his mouth like he was trying to clear a bad taste in his mouth, "breasts. What did you expect me to do? Let him befoul your honor like that?"

"We were thirteen! Thirteen year old boys make boob jokes! It's not like I showed him mine!"

"I didn't wan't people to think you showed 'em off! Can we talk about something else now?"

"You're the one who brought it up Gladickio!"

"Man I had nearly forgotten that nickname!" Noctis laughed.

"Oh you want a reminder of why you stopped calling me that?"

A knock on the door drew a yelp from Lunafreya, who flinched and told the group she was fine, the sharp noise merely catching her off guard. Noctis resisted the urge to reach for her hand, glancing at her for a moment and got up to answer the door after she gave him a small smile with a subtle nod. The small boy he assumed was Talcott was standing behind the door with an older man that Noctis recognized as Jared, the man had been serving the Amicitia family for decades. The boy looked back, tilting his head to look up at the older man, relaxing his posture when Jared gestured for him to go into the room.

"Welcome back guys."

"How you feeling?" Jared asked.

"Not okay." Iris answered honestly, "I don't think I'll be okay for a while." Iris gave a nervous glance over at Noctis, her eyes flicking over to Lunafreya for a moment too brief to make eye contact and turned to her brother, who simply nodded at Jared with a shrug of one shoulder.

"To be expected." Jared nodded. "And Noctis! I was quite pleased to hear you made it from Altissia! When I heard the news on the radio…" he looked over to the young woman beside him. "Is this?"

"Luna." Noctis introduced, "The Oracle."

"Well I'll be damned… Maybe there's a lick of hope for our world." He had been told of everyone's flight from Altissia, and the fate of Regis and Clarus in Insomnia, but seeing the Oracle safe in person was a comforting sight

"You all must be exhausted if what Gladiolus told me is correct." Jared moved the lock on the door. Noctis got up from the bed, Lunafreya mirroring him the pair ignoring Jared's protests as they gestured for him to take their spot. Noctis sat on the bed near Gladiolus, Lunafreya sitting on the windowsill.

"Can't deny that."

"Let me rent rooms for everyone tonight, get a good rest. Gladiolus told me that you all plan to be spending many nights camping." He held up a palm to forestall any protests, "I insist. If you are going to be facing the wilds of Lucis the least I can do is rent a hotel room for the night." The royal pair relented, happy for the offer. The others returned within the half-hour, equally excited at the offer. Initially Jared offered to rent three rooms total, but the group insisted he was being generous enough with two. Iris and Gladiolus would share a room with Jared and Talcott, still needing the family time. Noctis, Luna, Prompto, Ignis, and Crowe were to share the second room after Crowe insisted she would be quite comfortable on the floor as long as several of the sleeping bags in the Regalia were brought to the room. Talcott was excited by the cactuar and chocobo toys that were purchased by the returning friends, and the group sat and talked for a short time before exhaustion caught up with them and they parted ways to prepare for bed.

Lunafreya sat on the edge of the bed, drying the ends of her wet hair, listening to the shower run and trying to focus on the sound to ease her anxiety. Noctis had entered the bathroom after her, and the others were finishing getting ready. Ignis and Crowe had walked to the Regalia to gather the sleeping bags so she could comfortably sleep on the floor and she sprawled out across the top of them after complaining that the air conditioner couldn't compete with the heat.

"You'd think you'd be used to heat after living in Galahad. That place is basically a sauna isn't it?" Prompto answered her complaint from where he was lying on the bed, fiddling with his phone.

"My spoiled ass got used to the nicer climate of Lucis and all the high-power air conditioners in Insomnia that could turn your room into a freezer if you wanted. Speaking of spoiled, what's your spoiled ass gonna do for entertainment when we're off adventuring in the wild? Not like people built those wireless charging hubs in the middle of sabertusk territory."

"We'll probably be stopping by places humans exist often enough." He answered, a slight hesitation in his reply.

"I'm not counting on that. Hey blondie,"

"Yeah?" Prompto asked.

"Not you, the pretty one."

"I am the pretty one!" Prompto retorted,

"I don't see the Prince making goo-goo eyes at you so I beg to differ. But fine, if that's too confusing for you," she paused to look up at Lunafreya, "hey sparkle-fingers."

"Sparkle-fingers?"

"Your fingers get all glittery when you do your thing with the healing and the prayers and the being all magical." She wiggled her fingers in the air.

"Quite the nickname for the Oracle." Prompto laughed. Lunafreya smiled, unlacing her fingers and leaning back against her palms. Noctis had always called her Luna after being incapable of pronouncing her full name a child, but this was the first time she had been given an actual nickname. Even the few friends she had before the Nifleheim invasion merely called her Lunafreya due to her brother's distaste for calling her by anything but her full name, and how intimidating he was even as a child.

"Not very… respectful." She looked over at Ignis with a slight frown,

"I like it." She offered after a brief hesitation.

"See?" Crowe pointed, "don't have to be all proper all the time." Noctis emerged from the shower, and Ignis was glad for the interruption and the chance to wash away his tension. He made a mental note to encourage the group to undertake another hunt so they could buy extra sets of clothes and some sleepwear prior to departing form Lestallum. He wasn't sure where their next destination was, and the ambiguity bothered him; nearly as much as the idea of putting back on a worn set of clothing after showering. But he supposed circumstance was twisting his arm, and sleeping in the nude was not exactly an option.

"You would do well to shower after me and scrub that sarcasm off you, I can smell it from here." Ignis quipped to her, and turned to hide his smirk in response to her barking laugh.

"You know you love it." She shot back, and make a kissing gesture at his back that left the advisor rolling his eyes. He showered, and Crowe followed. With everyone feeling as clean as they could sleeping in dirty sweat-coated clothing the lights were switched off as they all settled into their respective spots. Lunafreya shifted onto her side, gripping the blankets and tugging them close. She felt Noctis's hand drift to her hip and she flinched at the contact. She heard a whispered sorry to accompany him withdrawing his hand. She frowned, gripping the sheets tighter cursing how jumpy she was at times. She knit her brows, trying to will herself to remain still when she felt his palm against her again, but instead she heard shifting cloth and a whispered apology.

Sleep took each of the friends in turn, Prompto asking the others if they would be disturbed if he set some music on his phone to sleep to, disliking the ambiance of city noise. No one protested, and the room was filled with a strange genre that combined techno with orchestral music. They group found it odd, but were too tired to tease about it and just allowed the music to play. Exhaustion led to dreamless sleep for the group until a jarring ringing echoed in the small room.

Lunafreya's eyes opened and she realized there were arms around her, but this wasn't her bedroom in Tenebrae. She sat up quickly, looking for the source of the sound and saw the others in the room. Her heart raced, throbbing in her ears and a numbness shot through her limbs. She shifted back against the headboard, her chest rising with shallow rapid breaths. She was vaguely aware of Ignis's voice talking quietly, and Prompto complaining about being woken up quite a bit louder.

"Luna?" Noct mumbled, wondering why her warmth shimmied away from him so quick.. He looked up at her and saw the way she was pressing herself against the headboard and quickly sat himself up. "Luna?" he asked again, reaching for her hand. Her head turned quickly, and even in the dark he could see how much of the blue in her eyes was obscured with black. "Hey… you're okay. You're in Lestallum? Remember?" Her movements were sharp as she looked around her, squinting her eyes as she let out a long exhale.

"Sorry." She apologized, a quiver to her voice.

"Sparklefingers?" Crowe's voice called form the floor, hoarse with sleep.

"I just need air." She spoke slowly, tone sharp as she tried to control the tightness in her throat and bring her breathing under control. She threw she sheets aside, covering Noctis's face, hastily climbing from the bed and walking towards the door fumbled with the lock, a loud thud echoing in the room as the heavy door swung shut behind her. Noctis disentangled himself from the sheets,

"I'll go check on her." He answered the questions and worried eyes from around the room before leaving. He found Lunafreya in the hallway with her hands clasped together before her chest. Her eyes were shut tight, lips tight together as she fought to control her rapid breathing. "Luna?" he asked. She jumped, gasping, and looked at him.

"Sorry…"

"Are you okay?" he hesitated before speaking, trying to suppress his first reflex to tell her to stop apologizing.

"I…" she paused, and shook her head, stepping towards him. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, her own hands grasping his shirt. "Gods Noct… I thought… I just saw so many people around us. I thought they were the soldiers who used to sometimes watch me sleep at night. I thought they…" she hesitated, swallowing hard as her mind swam. The sweat on Noctis's shirt almost smelled like the metal, the dirt like oil. She resisted the urge to push him away and just kept repeating to herself It's Noctis. You're safe. You're safe. She tried to focus on the warmth of his arms, something those machines could never replicate. The feel of his breath against her hair was nothing like the stinging exhaust from the machines, his soothing voice so unlike the electric whine. "I thought they were watching us… that Caligo would finally find out. That they would… that the human soldiers would finally just… just do all those things they threatened to do if I wasn't the Holy Oracle." Her voice cracked, and a sharp inhale left her throat as a sob, her knuckles flushing white as she gripped his shirt tighter.

Noctis wanted to assure her that she was safe, he wouldn't allow those MT machines anywhere near her, that Caligo would never again haunt the hallways where slept, and the threats that were constantly following her would never be fulfilled. But her sobs against his chest were making it hard for him to control the tightness in his throat, the anger roiling within him, and he didn't want that rage to find its way into his voice. He wrapped his arms around her tighter, pulling her closer to him and kissed the crown of her head. It was several moments before he trusted himself to speak,

"You're safe now." Were the only words he could think of, wishing he could find something real to say to bring her comfort. He knew she didn't feel safe, recalling their conversation from that first night in Hammerhead.

"Am I really though?" she answered, one fist gripping his shirt, her other palm slapped against his chest in a feigned attempt to push him away as she nestled herself closer. "If people recognize me, and see us together, can't he just send his army to capture me?" she asked him.

"Like hell if I'd let them. And once we get the Astrals on our side they'll blow up Eos to keep their messenger safe." She wanted to correct him, say that Gentiana was their messenger, she was mankind's messenger. Caligo's Lady Lunafreya. Nifleheim's Oracle. The healer. The holy figure. "And you're in Lucis now."

"Do the people of Lucis even look at me as anything more than a title and a picture from the newspaper?" She forced the question out. "I'm keeping you up. You must still be tired…"

"Don't do that." He answered her, "Don't use me as an excuse to ignore yourself. You're safe Luna... I won't let anything happen to you. I'll collect every damn weapon on this continent, every Astral, destroy every last Nif if that's what it takes to keep you safe." He whispered into her hair. She squinted her eyes, feeling the tears stinging her cheeks, and fought the pain in her throat. You're one man against an entire Nation. She thought.

"I trust you."

"You can trust my friends too. And Crowe, she's your Shield."

"To them I'm just the Oracle." She answered back.

"No, you're Luna. Don't mind Iggy. He can't not be formal even if you held a gun to his head." She chuckled at that,

"I suppose I'll just have to keep reminding him until he stops calling me Lady Lunafreya."

"He'll get it eventually."

"I just don't think I should expect him to call me sparklefingers." She chuckled, pulling back slightly and sniffling, feeling childish as she pressed the back of her hand below her nose.

"Sparklefingers?" Noctis asked, tilting his head at her.

"Crowe's nickname for me." She smiled lightly, "because my fingers glowed when I healed her burns."

"See? You're already more than just the Oracle to them. Give 'em a chance. I promise they don't care that we shared a bed. If it makes you feel better, I can tease Prompto and Ignis all day tomorrow."

"Oh don't do that." She managed a chuckle, shaking her head, she lifted a hand from his chest, running it through her hair and brushing her bangs away from her face.

"Ready to go back to bed sparklefingers?" he asked, brushing his fingers against her cheek, resting his palm against her shoulder. She nodded, brushing away her tears with the heel of her hand.

"They must think I'm crazy… storming out like that."

"Just tell them you heard an ice cream truck and couldn't resist the craving. You're a chick, they'll get it." He waved a hand, exhaling a raspberry.

"Pig!" she laughed, pushing him away from her. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms again,

"I like you better smiling." He insisted. "Laughing is even better."

"I like you smiling better too, I'm sorry I-"

"Stop apologizing." She shrugged slightly and smiled in answer, and let him guide her back into the room after she admitted she did need more sleep in answer to his inquiry. She feared going back into the room would be awkward, but Crowe merely looked at her with forrowed brows, laying back down when Lunafreya gave her a small nod. The only sounds from Ignis and Prompto were quiet breathing, and the odd music playing from Prompto's phone. But Ignis was still sitting up in bed, back against the headboard.

Noctis slid into bed next to Lunafreya, letting her curl onto her side and maintain a degree of distance between them. He reached over for his phone resting on the end table beside the bed and dim the screen before pulling up his messages.

Noct: Whats up you okay man?

Ignis: Yes and no. My uncle is alive, uninjured, but he is still stuck in Insomnia. He is the one who called me. Is the Lady all right?

Noct: Shell be fine guess i snuggled her in my sleep and shes still getting used to a new environment and a lot of new faces so it made her panic itll take time for her to really feel safe i think Noctis hit send, giving Lunafreya a glance, sighing

Ignis: Understandable.

Noctis: So is your uncle safe?

Ignis: He and some other refugees have taken shelter in a house. Parts of Insomnia even have power. But we can discuss this further in the morning. Noctis heard the ruffling of sheets and turned to see Ignis settling into the bed, Prompto whining a little bit and turning over. He sighed, setting into the bed himself, tugging the sheets up to his shoulder. He slid a hand under the sheet and found Lunafreya's hand, brushing the edge of her thumb with his fingertips and felt her reach and twine their fingers.

The morning consisted of a difficult several minutes to draw their prince out of bed, and a quick breakfast purchased by Jared, who refused any offers to pay him back for his generosity towards the group. Crowe brought up her request to return to Hammerhead to discuss the change in her abilities with Regis, Lunafreya rejecting her proposal of staying behind and having a new Shield assigned.

"Look why don't the two of you shop together? We'll give you some money to get some practical clothes," he paused at Lunafreya's expression and held up a palm, "A blind man could tell you're uncomfortable in that outfit. Look it'll do you both good. Crowe, whether you believe it or not she wants you to be her shield, so go play nice."

"Should we really split up?" Lunafreya asked.

"Look, a Shield is better if they get to know their charge. I used to think Noct here was nothing more than a spoiled Prince. Okay he is a spoiled Prince,"

"Hey!"

"But I now know he has a few extra personality traits, but didn't learn that until we were stuck alone together."

"What, your parents put you in a pair of hundcuffs or something?" Crowe asked, crossing her arms and lifting a brow.

"Uh, kind of." Noctos offered.

"I was training Noct and being a bigger ass than usual. Noct, who had just learned that freaky magic shit, threw a blizzard spell at me. Well, he didn't control it well. Got us both trapped in the ice from the shin-down. Thank god Insomnia makes good boots. Regis refuse to free us, sick of us not getting along. Well we got bored and started talking."

"You do have a short attention span." Prompto pointed out.

"Longer than yours. Long story short, getting to know the Prince made me a better shield, so getting to know the Princess will make you a better Shield." Gladiolus finished. "And you really want to admit to Nyx you quit?"

"Speaking of glaives… didn't someone mention Libertus? I haven't seen his ass anywhere and it has an overdue appointment at the E-R after that recipe bullshit."

"Huh?" Prompto asked, vaguely remembering something involving a lot of swearing and a recipe back in Galdin Quay.

"I dunno, I stopped questioning her a long time ago." Gladiolus answered, and Crowe clearly ignoring both men and repeated her question. "Actually good point. Iris said Libertus led a bunch of refugees here. Wonder where he went. I'll ask Iris when she gets out of the shower." Gladiolus added. He too was curious where the glaive went, and if he should be worried about his disappearance, especially after the trick he pulled on Crowe.

"I gotta shove my fist so far up his ass I'll be pulling his teeth." Crowe mumbled. "Makin a great impression on you, huh?" she added, giving Lunafreya a light tap on the arm with a closed fist.

"I'm quite sure he must have done something to earn such ire." She answered with a slight shrug.

"Well you two get something more practical so you can stop looking like you want to crawl out of your own skin, we'll go get some practical provisions around town." Gladiolus explained. He insisted there was some money left after he handed over gil to Lunafreya. She lamented the small shorts lacking adequate pockets and handed the money to Crowe, sure that the black cargo pants the woman was wearing would be more secure.

"We can all meet back up after shopping like a bunch of teenage girls. Good plan?" They all agreed, and began to part ways, Noctis grabbing Lunafreya's wrist letting their friends get ahead of them.

"If you need me just call, okay? Crowe has my number." She smiled at him, pausing to let their friends get just a few more steps ahead of them before standing on her toes to give him a quick kiss,

"I'll be all right." She assured him. "But I promise to call if need be." She assured him. He smiled, giving her a second kiss before grasping her hand so they could catch up to their friends before they had a chance to tease them for falling back.


So I guess not a ton actually happened in this chapter. I hope you find Luna's anxiety fits. I went with her dark past from the trailers and simply escaping the Empire won't erase all that trauma. Hope this chapter was enjoyable :)