So one section of this got reworked over and over and over for about 3 days. I kept running it past my beta reader, questioning myself, rewrote scenes, and I hope the outcome is enjoyable!
"Come on… yeah!" Noctis cheered after a few moments of pacing the space just through the building's doorway, feeling too tense to venture far off in search of a signal. He tapped at his phone with a tremor in his hands, struggling with connecting the call to his father, taking in slow breaths to try and steady his voice while he listened to the ringing.
"Son, how are you?" he sounded surprised, and tired. Damn. Noctis cursed to himself. He hadn't thought of checking the time before making the call.
"I need some help dad, we encountered something. Everyone's okay!" He added the last two words quickly, picturing how fast his father was probably about to jump to his feet, wincing at his own choice of words.
"What's wrong?"
"Kind of a long story I'll try to keep it short," Noctis answered and began to summarize everything that had happened, hoping his father wouldn't think him crazy for even thinking to trust this Aranea woman. His father remained patiently quiet on the other line, and for several long moments after Noctis told him of the horrors they discovered at this Nifleheimer base, he finally spoke.
"These are war crimes, so do not yet harm these men. They must stand proper trial, show them how we do things in Lucis."Noctis understood the subtext to these words, and realized how much Lunafreya had in common with his father. "I will notify Cor, he will gather some trustworthy hunters to come arrest them and bring them to Lestallum." After agreeing with this plan and asking to be notified when people were on their way they exchanged short goodbyes, Noctis shoving his phone back into his pocket once he ended the call. He had hoped his father would have wise words for him or reassurances to help calm him down after seeing this shit, but his father had almost seemed as shaken as him. He sat down with his back against the base wall, giving himself several minutes to breathe, confident his friends had everything inside the room under control. Resorting to using hunters as our military police force? He pondered, wondering if there were any glaives who had survived without licking the Empire's boots.
Ignis had eventually joined his Prince outside, needing a break from the tension inside the base. Gladiolus and Aranea had decided to check out the remaining room, noticing it was a storage room for various pieces of equipment. They emptied it, inspected it for any sign of something that could be used as a weapon, and locked their four Nifleheimer prisoner's in the second room telling them they would shoot them if they tried to come out before being fetched. With the Nifs contained Ignis had tried to set about reading through the various papers on the desk, but found he was too agitated to handle reading their contents from the moment he read the word Blight on the first sheet.
"Did the King have a solution to our problem?" he inquired, sitting against the wall beside Noctis.
"He called Cor, and Cor called me a few minutes ago. Guess he's meeting up with some hunters, gonna meet us here. I gave him the best directions I could, he thinks they should be here before dark." He wondered if they were all going to spend a night in this nightmare of a place, and couldn't yet decide if he'd rather risk facing daemons or a night in it.
"Ah, we shall meet the Immortal once again." Ignis answered, sighing and tilting his head back. "I'll be sure to gather all the notes here. Perhaps we can gleam some information from them."
"I dunno, Cor and the guys will probably want to take everything as evidence. Regis said he wanted to try these Nifs for war crimes." Noctis sighed too, wondering if they were contagious like a yawn. "So may want to read them while we can. Or see if they have a copy machine." He suggested with a shrug. After a moments pause he knit his brows, sitting straighter, "How's Luna?" he asked.
"Don't jump to your feet yet. She is working with the final man now, Crowe is with her. I would have come to get you had I thought she required your presence but as it stands her focus is on trying to heal these three." Ignis tried to reassure Noctis, reaching out to pat his shoulder.
"Did she have to see shit like this all the time if the Nifs dragged her around like their ace in the hole for dealing with the blight?" he mused aloud, trying to will away the image of the humanoid in the bed that he was starting to wonder if a bullet would be considered a mercy rather than a murder. "How'd she get through twelve years with her marbles intact?"
"That young woman has quite the fortitude." Ignis answered. "I suspect the hope of a certain friendship may have given her some measure of strength to endure." He added. Noctis let a breath out through his nose, beginning to bounce his leg, palm tapping against his thigh.
"I know we need to do all these covenants. But we need to blow up every Nif base we see. If they do shit like this Iggy, how can I justify running around ignoring it?" He wondered if there were more like this.
"First let us discover what this base was up to. Perhaps then, with motivations in hand, we can better track down other bases with some sense of strategy. As much as I would like to simply rain fire upon everything, I do not believe it will be this easy next time."
"Yeah." Noctis agreed. As he thought about it the tapping of his thigh grew more into kneading his leg, realizing how relatively easy it had been to take over this base. It felt odd. He was still waiting for another wave of MTs to appear, wreaking havoc among them. "I should check on Luna." He suggested again, only for Ignis to remind him where her attention was and reassured him that she would likely come outside with Crowe's encouragement the moment she felt she was finished administering what healing she could. "Feels like we've been at this building for hours. But its been what, a half-hour, tops?" he asked. Ignis shrugged, keeping the correction forty to himself.
"I think we should discuss sleeping arrangements." Ignis suggested.
"Daemons are probably everywhere, not sure we'd make it to the car to get our sleeping bags in one piece." Noctis answered, questioning in retrospect the wisdom of coming to the base under cover of darkness. Now they had no feasible way out and the thought of being in this hell-hole until daylight was surely enough to keep him tossing in his sleep all night with nightmares. He wasn't sure he would ever be able to scrub his memory of the smell of that room from his mind's eye, even if he somehow blocked out those images.
"Although this base has only a handful of humans in it, perhaps there was a barracks with beds for them to sleep at night?" Ignis suggested.
"Maybe. Remind me why we just jumped the gun and decided to trust and follow a Nif? Questioning this nighttime adventure now that we're trapped in this place until morning." He grumbled. Ignis paused before answering, Noctis starting up again. "I shouldn't have let her order you around." It was still bothering him that Aranea had commanded Ignis to look for the door code. Even if it worked in the end, why did he let a Nif give his advisor orders?
"If it bothered me I assure you I would have put up protest. But there was a wisdom in her suggestion and it was prudent for us to find that code." He insisted. Noctis wondered how they would find if this base had a barracks.
"Maybe we should walk around and look for a barracks." Noctisi suggested. He let out an irritated sigh when Ignis replied with a suggestion to ask Aranea to help narrow their search, not wanting to risk stumbling upon some new horror by searching on their own. "It's like you can read my mind." He complained, but couldn't find a valid argument to suggest otherwise, outside his own stubbornness, not wanting to rely on her again.
"Noctis?" Lunafreya inquired, stepping out of the base with Crowe close beside her. The young woman looked exhausted, pressing the back of her palm against her mouth to stifle a yawn. Her knees ached from the prolonged time on her knees, and she had little to show for it. She glanced over her shoulder with a frown, wishing she could have done more than ease these peoples' pain. She helped accelerate the healing of some amputation wounds, soothing them all into a sleep. She was unsure the third would ever awaken and it panged her heart at the thought that they would die without their family by their side.
"Luna!" Ignis leaned away from Noctis to dodge the elbow that almost struck his face with the Prince's haste to get to his feet. Lunafreya held her palms up and offered him a smile in an attempt to ease his apparent anxiety.
"I'm all right Noct, just perhaps a tad exhausted." She couldn't recall the last time she had spent so long healing so few people. "Do you bear news of what we shall be doing now?" she inquired, sure that between the Prince and his advisor a plan would be devised. Noctis nodded, but before telling her about Cor he closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her. She hesistated for only a moment before returning his embrace, her arms pulling tighter when she felt him do the same, fingers gripping the fabric of the back of his shift.
"I shall go inquire about those barracks." Ignis offered, walking past the couple to enter the room. Noctis held Lunafreya for a moment longer after she began to release her own hold before finally stepping back.
"You need an ether?" he asked, wondering if Ignis had another mysterious stash of energy drinks in his pockets. She chuckled and shook her head, reassuring him all she needed was some proper sleep and by morning she would feel herself again. "Speaking of sleep, that's what me and Iggy were talking about."
"What are we going to do?" she glanced up as if to confirm that it was still dark, knitting her brows together. "I assume we are a bit… stuck here." She added after a moment. Noctis nodded, sighing and giving her an apologetic smile. "Hmm… that must be why Ignis mentioned something about a barracks?" She couldn't help but scrunch her nose at the thought of spending the night in this place, the pale hair on her arms standing on end as goosebumps rolled down her limbs.
"Yeah. Man is everyone reading minds tonight? What's in the water?" he asked. "Can I have some? Get some psychic powers to go with my elemental badassery?" he requested, pouting his bottom lip. Lunafreya chuckled, giving him a light slap on the arm. She was relieved to see him smile, but the smile faded quickly, and he shifted his weight between his feet.
"Are we locking those four men in that room for the entirety of the evening?" Lunafreya asked. "I am not protesting this action," she held up a finger when she saw Noctis open his mouth to speak. "Merely concerned that once again we shall not be allowed to sleep as a group, as someone would have to keep watch on that door." She explained. After the sight she saw in that mockery of an operating room, she had wanted to suggest that they lock the men in that cold room, but there were too many things in there that could serve as a weapon. Noctis frowned at her, reaching out to place a kiss atop her head, keeping himself close to her. She closed the final step, resting her head against his chest, listening to the rapid pounding of his heart.
"My dad is having Cor and some guys come here to arrest these Nifs on war crimes." Noctis explained. "Not sure how long it'll take them to get here, Cor called me earlier."
"But the daemons? Shouldn't they wait until morning?"
"They're all hunters, they fight daemons for a living." He reassured her, wincing as he wondered how true his words were. Noctis flinched when he felt a familiar warmth suddenly ignite in him, stepping back and looking down at Lunafreya, placing his hands on her shoulders, "what are you doing?"
"Your heart is racing… I wanted to help ease some of your distress." She answered.
"But you've already healed those guys in there until you were ready to pass out." He countered. She shook her head, palms going back to his chest and fingers resuming their glow.
"I assure you Noctis, merely helping you feel less tense will not drain me of my strength." She tried to chuckle. Her fingertips glowed and she flushed slight as she could hear Crowe in the back of her mind calling her Sparklefingers, placing her palms on either side of Noctis's face, urging him to lean down slightly so she could press her forehead to his. After a short prayer she felt him slough slightly and drew back, glad to see less tension in his posture.
"So… how are they?" Noctis asked a moment after the warmth of her light had faded. She bit down on her bottom lip, looking over her shoulder at the building. She shook her head with a light shrug, letting her breath out in a slow sigh.
"It… does not bode well. I could push back the blight in one of the men, but the other two are too far gone. I did my best to ease their discomfort and I can only hope that their suffering will soon end." She answered. Noctis flinched at her honesty, and had hoped for some miracle. He wondered if the one man she was hoping would pull through could provide them with some information on what had gone on in this place. As his mind drifted to these victims a chill ran down his limbs and it felt almost as of bugs were crawling beneath his skin begging him to run, but he felt the effects of Lunafreya's light begin to ease away the rising anxiety before it could take root.
"Are they okay to move? Can we get them to an actual hospital?" he inquired. He paused then, knitting his brows and wondering where to take them. Did Lestallum have hospitals? It was a large enough city, surely it had the infrastructure of a medical system. But it felt so damn far away.
"I fear not." Lunafreya answered him, bangs coming loose from behind her head as she shook her head no. "Perhaps the man with whom I was able to push back the blight, but as for the others…" She hesitated, mouth opening and closing as she searched for the right word, "the soul whom is closest to death may not make it through the day. I do not know how the empire has sustained them for this length. I have never seen such a thing… nor felt it." She added the final words after taking a step closer to Noctis, glad he brought his arms tighter around her without her needing to ask.
"Noctis?" The Prince flinched upon hearing his name, Lunafreya stepping back out of his arms as they both looked towards Ignis, who held a palm up in apology. "It appears that there were quarters for the Nifleheim scientists and the soldier overseeing them" Ignis explained.
"Shit, I hope they put more than four beds." Noctis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"One way to find out." Ignis answered with a shrug.
"Well is Aranea going to show us this place or just make us run around on a wild goose chase?"
"Unbunch your panties!" A female voice chimed, Aranea stepping outside. "I'll show you. Just had to hand off the gun to muscles back there. Does he wax his chest? He's like some Fabio from the cover of a romance novel." She held her fingers up to make air quotes.
"Well he does have a mullet, so half-has the long hair." Noctis answered, getting a quirked brow from his compatriots. "What? I don't need to read the things to get the joke." He answered their looks defensively.
"I always thought you never liked to reach much. Perhaps I've merely offered you the wrong reading material." Lunafreya teased him, biting down on her bottom lip in a failed attempt to restrain her giggle. Aranea laughed, stepping past the two men to plant her hand on Lunafreya's shoulder, smiling despite the woman's flinch.
"I like you." She stated, patting her shoulder and starting to walk down the path between buildings, raising her arm making a follow me gesture. Noctis exchanged a look with Ignis, shrugging at his scrunched expression and started to follow Aranea, Lunafreya keeping pace at his side. They were led two buildings down to another structure that looked as if it were constructed from cinder blocks. "Home sweet home for the night." She announced, thumbing at the building. "Enjoy your five-star accommodations, courtesy of the Empire." They punched in the key code from earlier, thanking Ignis's astounding memory and were pleasantly surprised to find the Nifs were dumb enough to use a universal code at this base. Inside were four lines of bunks, a metal trunk at the foot of them. "Like I said, five-star comfort."
"Speaking of five star… I wonder if they have any food in here. Even if all they have is flour and pickles Ignis could turn it into something." Noctis pondered with a rumble from his stomach, his body reminding him how hungry he was now that the question of obtaining sleep seemed to be answered.
"Eh, I doubt it. Empire's stingy, they wouldn't risk keeping food where everyone sleeps in case someone got the idea for a midnight snack. I can go raid round looking for their storage." Aranea answered, clicking her tongue.
"I shall join you. Gather inventory for myself to see what I could serve as a meal." Ignis looked at her, getting a shrug in reply.
"I've had worse company. All right. You two gonna run a royal inspection? Make sure it's up to fancy-pants standards?" Aranea asked.
"Umm we can come with you or?" Noctis trailed off, shifting his weigh and crossing his arms over his chest.
"If you will excuse my bluntness my Lady, you appear quite fatigued after the efforts of comforting the men in that room. I was going to suggest that you get some rest, and Noctis that you watch over her. I will come get you with news of food should Aranea and I's search turn up successful, or when Cor and the others arrive." Lunafreya shrugged to try to tell Ignis that she was not offended by his words, nodding at Noctis.
"Aren't you exhausted too? It's really late." He countered.
"As stated I wish to accompany Aranea to find something I can fashion into a meal. And I do wish to thumb through the notes these scientists have; as unsettled as I am about the things we saw…"
"And everyone else?" Noctis asked. Lunafreya's brows lifted,
"Now that you mention the others, I'm a bit surprised that Crowe did not accompany us." Her Shield rarely left her side, and in the company of the Nifleheim addition to their party she was sure the woman would have been even more apprehensive.
"Maybe she was distracted by Fabio." Aranea suggested. "I know I wouldn't have argued with staying behind to watch that glistening chest." She added, tapping a finger on her chin. "Well now that you talked about food I'm starved. And this bar in my pocket isn't filling. I think I'd rather eat a stick." She gave the royals a wave and began to walk off, Ignis looking quickly between her and the royal pair.
"See you in a bit man, but if you guys get tired come rest too, okay?" Ignis nodded his head and walked quickly to catch up to Aranea, leaving Lunafreya and Noctis in the dark building.
"Think there's a light?" he asked, looking up overhead. The building seemed crude and rushed, and while the cots of the bunks looked horribly uncomfortable, they were better than a floor for the night.
"Looks like they focused all of the bases's power on the external lights." Lunafreya answered. "They usually do that." She added after a moment, squinting her eyes to try and push back the rising fear. Her pulse was quickening, and she took a slow deep breath to keep her breathing level. She glanced around, the action habitual enough that she gave it no thought, better able to center herself when no voices carried from behind doors, no fingers dug into her arm-
"Luna?" she yelped and jerked back when Noctis's hand closed around her wrist, staring up at him with wide eyes clutching her fist to her chest. Her pupils were dilated, and the muscles stood out on her neck. "Whoa… hey… it's just me…" he tried to reassure her, reaching out a hand but hesitating before touching her.
"Sorry." She apologized, trying to force a smile, but it never touched her eyes. Until their flight from Altissia, the world outside of her bedroom was a place she had only ever seen in the postcards that Noctis would send her tucked in the pages of their notebook, or when they would bring her to heal her people. Those days, those rare days, were a source of joy for her. Until night would settle. She would be brought to a hastily constructed barracks, erected to house her and the soldiers guarding her. Ravus would fight for proper comforts for her when he could, but he wasn't always available to oversee her, often sent out on his own missions across the continent. The buildings were like this one, outposts constructed in a hurry across the land, and the towns and villagers they visited were dictated by the availability of these outposts. She would be given a bunk, often in the center of the room to eliminate even the hope of escape. A night of grinding metal, hissing exhaust, and the impact of boots on stone as MTs would pace along the rows while the humans slept. The dark circles around her eyes growing darker with a night absent of sleep.
Other nights, they would drug her. Sometimes she would quietly comply, if only to keep her night calm. Other nights they would slip it into her food or drink if she had protested. She rubbed at her healing ribs as she tried to blink back the overwhelming memories, recalling just why she was usually compliant with their commands. Noctis's voice helped her drift back to reality, back to the empty room devoid of MTs and soldiers. Devoid of more bruises to match the circles around her eyes.
"I'm all right." She whispered and repeated her words again with more voice.
"Is it the building?" he asked.
"Guess you did get those mind-reading powers you coveted." She managed to joke, smiling at him. "Whenever I would be brought to temper a new outbreak of the blight or aide people victims of this war, we would spend the nights in these barracks." She explained. He took a step towards her and when she didn't flinch he wrapped one arm around her waist,
"Well, if I am reading your mind right I think I know how to cheer you up" Noctis cupped her cheek, thumb brushing the skin beneath her earlobe, trying to give her a smile. He could feel the rigidity of her posture, her knuckles flushed white with her grip on his shirt.
"It's not just… old memories. You helped me escape and it was almost possible to forget what Nifleheim was capable of. Those poor people back there." Her voice trailed into a whisper, a tremor finding its way into her words.
"Lets give you some new memories." He mumbled, brushing fingers against her skin. She sighed, wondering how long the others would be away before coming back for them, and failed to push away the fear of them seeing her wrapped in his arms. She struggled to fight the memories creeping back; an aching body, the sights and smells of blight, infection, and death. Fears of people walking into the barracks threatening to overcome this desire to be in his arms. Of letting him comfort her, give her mind a place of light to go. She stood a little straighter, placing her palms on either side of Noctis' face when he repeated her name, hoping to jar her from the places she was sinking into. She stood on her toes, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. But godsdamnit was she sick of letting the Empire rule her. I'm done letting them dictate my life, even through memory. She thought to herself, pressing herself against Noctis, winding her arms around his neck. She moved to meet his lips, and jerked back from him suddenly,
"Oh…" she mumbled, flushing as she tried to temper further reaction. The smell of his breath had caught her off guard, and she huffed a breath through her nose to try and clear the scent. It was acutely acrid, the distinct odor of vomit unmistakable. Lunafreya wished she had mints on her, something often carried for her to help ease her nausea during long travels.
"What's wrong?" Noctis asked, trying to tug her back to him but instead she shook her head, and failed to contain her snicker.
"Your… your breath. Umm… it's quite terrible." She admitted. She met his eyes with a slight smile on her face, and she could feel the heat up to hear ears, expression shifting with sympathy as he slapped his hand over his mouth, his own face glowing red. "Typically when in a base such as this my escort would have mints on them." She admitted, letting out a sound half-scoff, half-laugh. "to think there would be any silver lining to having them around." She added, shaking her head.
"Sorry… umm…. Must be from, y'know… throwing up earlier." Her grin tilted, brows knitting together.
"You were vomiting?" the smell spoke for itself, but she still felt bad. "I may have been able to help"
"Even your light couldn't have helped me," or Prompto, he managed to keep the words to himself, "but it's just some bad breath, I'm sure I've had worse morning breath and you've never argued." He countered, leaning back towards her for a kiss, but she pressed her palm to his mouth, a full laugh breaking through her as she leaned away from him, shaking her head.
"Perhaps in the mornings I am less coherent, but I assure you your breath is quite abhorrent." She answered back. She yelped, jerking her hand back when his tongue darted out to tickle her palm. "Noct!" she chided. He laughed at her reaction, making exaggerated kissing-faces at her as she tried to back away, "stop it!" her manic giggling did little to encourage him to stop, chasing her as she tried to stagger backwards, grabbing her hips and jerking her towards him,
"Making me chase you? That isn't fair!" he pouted, bottom lip quivering. She shook her head at him and wagged a finger,
"Find a mint and perhaps I'll reconsider my position." She insisted.
"I mean, Ignis probably has some in those infinite pockets of his. Probably has our tents in there, a book on how to properly banish bad breath forever, a miracle cure for stubborn princesses who won't give this frog a kiss to turn him back into a prince," he listed off, tapping off his fingers as they unfurled.
"If I kiss you, will you shush?" she asked, quirking a brow.
"One way to find out." He smirked, she rolled her eyes, holding her breath to stand on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips, falling back to her heels.
"All better? Are you a prince now? Shall I assess myself for warts?"
"That's toads not frogs!"
"Ah, that is true. Hmm… maybe I should kiss you then, I hear if you lick certain frogs it is tantamount to taking certain recreational drugs."
"You sound like a textbook." He laughed, unable to resist teasing her.
"Then perhaps, for this once, I should be a misbehaved student and cave to peer-pressure and try this drug?" she inquired. "But honestly. That breath…" she sighed.
"Hmm…" he mused, and dug into his pocket, letting out an irritated sigh. He checked another, then a third, then after a pause summoned his fishing tackle box. He held up a finger to forestall Lunafreya's question, opening it up and let out a triumphant ha! when he pulled a tin from inside the tackle box, proudly holding up the mints. "Here we go."
"Why do you have mints in your fishing box?" she inquired.
"Long fishing trips I get idle and like to suck on mints." He shrugged, quickly chewing one, then popped several more into his mouth. He winced at the strong taste, remembering just how potent this brand of mints was. He stored his tackle box away, but kept the tin of mints stuffed into a pocket before standing up, "Okay, time to see if I smell less like a dumpster fire." He smirked, she smiled, and didn't pull back when he crashed his lips against hers, arms enfolding her and pressed her firmly against him.
He moaned against her lips, feeling her tongue search for his, and he was all too eager to return the gesture. He was surprised by her eagerness, but like hell if he was going to complain. He too wanted to chase away everything he had seen in this damned base. Have something pleasant for his mind to latch to the next time he was capable of sleep. His right hand found the hem of her shirt, sliding it just beneath and brushed his fingers against the skin of her lower back, the other hand around her shoulders to keep her close to him. Her hands were pulling at the hem of his own shirt, and he felt as desperate as her to feel alive and warm. But her hands stopped midway up his back, one fist balling the shirt and the other pressed firmly against his back.
Noctis drew back from the kiss, his lips finding her neck again. She lolled her head back, letting a sigh escape through her lips. He gave a light suck, and she sighed, a smile pulling her lips at the sensation of his tongue on her skin. She whispered a warning to him not to leave a mark on her neck, but made no gesture to push him away. She gasped when he replied by gently nipping her neck, sucking at the spot again.
"Brat." She whispered,
"I don't hear you complaining." He answered her. She let out a huff of air through her nose, tilting her head and shrugging her shoulder to try and push him away, giggling lightly when he whined and tried to pursue the spot again. "We should see if we can fit on one of these beds," he mumbled, deciding to lightly kiss the other side of her neck, bringing his hand up to trace the spot with his thumb. He gave her no chance to reply, bringing his lips to hers, feeling her mouth part and her tongue seek his. He was more than eager tingo follow her deepen the kiss, moaning against her as both hands moved to her hips and tugging her towards him.
Lunafreya couldn't stop her mind from drifting down from her cloud back to the room they were standing in. Of people telling her to go lie down on that bed. Telling what to eat, what to wear, when to get up. She bit down on her bottom lip for a moment and both hands cupped Noctis's face, clashing her lips against him so roughly she felt Noctis shift. She grasped at his shirt, tugging it up over his head, fingers skimming his skin. Warm. He's so warm she reassured herself; that the hands holding her were not metal gears hidden beneath gloves gripping her wrist as she was instructed it was time to move. No. She thought. I'm… I'm in control. No one is telling me what to do. And she suspected Noctis wasn't suggesting the bed to tell her to go to sleep.
"I do fully approve of the intent behind your suggestion, but Iyour friends are near and we do not know when they will return." She answered. He whined at her answer, cupping her cheek and she tilted her head into his palm. "I assure you, I miss lying with you as well." She tried to insist. Fearful of disrupting her moment with him she bit back the fact that she had yet to erase the image of those people in those beds from her mind's eye.
"They think you're sleeping… if anything they'll have Ignis text me to try and not wake you up." He offered. She bit down on her bottom lip, and Noctis brought both of his hands to her hips tugging her closer to him and lightly grinding against her.
"Does the door lock?" she inquired, gripping his clothing. She was still unsure, her words coming in little more than a whisper, but she tried to grasp onto the moment and push everything else away. Noctis smirked, kissing her quickly and looking over his shoulder at the door. Their arms slid off of each other, Lunafreya's hands grasping her arms after she released his shirt. Noctis gazed at the door, curling his hip when he couldn't identify a lock. After a few more moments he remembered the keypad on the outside, and nodded, turning back towards Lunafreya,
"They keypad, remember?" She rolled her eyes and nodded, mentally kicking herself. Of course the damn door locked. A part of her had assumed the locks that always surrounded her were merely to keep her inside, but why wouldn't the Empire lock every door that contained their property? Noctis approached her and she stepped to meet him partway. She gave a cursory glance around the room to assess for windows, and while it would mean an uncomfortably hot morning, she was glad not to notice any.
Noctis came up behind her, arms sliding around her waist, one hand sliding between her legs teasing her through the fabric of her pants. The rigidity in her shoulders grew slack and she sighed, leaning back into his embrace as she unlocked her knees. His breath against her ear chased away memories of hissing exhaust, his voice whispering I love you was louder than Caligo's threats, his hands were gentle, fingers dancing below the rim of her bruises, chasing away the fists. His fingers traced slowly down her skin as his hands drifted to the hem of her shirt while the other taunted her with threats of untampered desire. She opened her mouth to whisper his name, sighing instead when he began to sway gently side to side, a hand pressing her against him as he leaned down to bring his lips back to her neck, and she gasped when she realized how sensitive she felt.
"You know, my fingers can probably do a better job releasing your tension without pants." He whispered to her. His tone misled her for a moment before she realized his words, jerking forward and spinning around, slapping his arm,
"Noct!" she chided, getting a cocky grin and wiggling brow in reply. His expression blanked for a moment when the phone in his pocket chimed, taking a quick glance at the screen to see a text
[Iggy] We found the storage for food, there are many a supply we can-
The rest of the message would only be readable if he opened it, but he could surmise the rest and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He felt it vibrate again, and imagine the list of inventory Ignis would be listing to him.
"Where were we?"
"You were behaving like a horny toad." She replied. "Perhaps I do need to check myself for warts." She commented, scanning her fingers and flipping her hands back and forth.
"Well, there's really only one remedy to that." He answered. Lunafreya was tempted to try to come up with some terrible pun involving the word blue, but he moved to fast and his lips worked too well against hers for sense to retain its hold. The mint on his tongue had chased away his breath, and she had become more than eager to taste him, and perhaps more than just his tongue. His hands had begun to tug at the bottom of her shirt again and she was happy to arch her back towards him, pressing her hips against his, his intentions all too clear with the pressure against her.
A rap against the steel door jerked them apart, the couple parting with Lunafreya hastily adjusting her top, Noctis dropping himself onto the nearest bed with his knees bent in an attempt to hide the erection tenting his pants.
"Noctis, my Lady, I do apologize," Ignis's voice came into the room, echoing off the stone walls. "I hope I am not distressing your rest right as you find it, but I want to ask Noctis for his assistance." He continued, his expression neutral as he looked at the pair of crimson-cheeked royals, the pair grateful for the darkness in the room making their complexions difficult to ascertain.
"Uh, sure. Yeah. We were just talking a bit. Let me finish helping Luna get settled, I'll meet you outside in a minute." Noctis answered, hoping his voice didn't' sound as gravely to Ignis as it did to his own ears. The advisor nodded, the door slamming shut behind its own weight, Noctis dropping his head back against the pillows and tried to imagine taking a cold shower with Gladiolus laughing at him to chase away thoughts of being in said shower with Lunafreya.
"I do think it prudent I find sleep." Said woman remarked, the small bunk creaking as she sat down on the edge of it next to him. "You help your friends, I will be all right." She reassured him, swallowing back the threat of a racing pulse. She could handle being in a locked room alone.
"Here…" he pulled his phone out, holding it out to her. "Push this to turn it on, the passcode is your birthday…" he blushed when admitting it. "push the contact button, then push Iggy, and push call, and it'll call Ignis's phone. In case you need to reach me." He explained. She stared oddly at the phone, never having used one before. Noctis chewed his bottom lip, and went through the explanation on more time before getting a curt nod from Lunafreya. She sat next to him, resisting the urge to kiss him knowing it would do little to help his current state. But after a few moments Noctis had collected himself enough to stand, the blush finally faded from his cheeks. "I'm not far, call me if you need me, okay?" he asked her.
"I will call you rather than have you return to find me somehow clinging to the ceiling like a panicked gecko." She assured, holding up her palm. Noctis chuckled, bending down for a quick kiss,
"We'll have to make up for this next opportunity."
"Is that a promise?" she asked with a smirk that was far too tempting. Not fair. He complained to himself.
"Promise"
So to clarify the note at the beginning it was specifically everything involving the Lunoct fluff. I kept questioning the appropraiteness of it, their reactions, the realism of it all. It took forever to get a scene written that I was content with. So shout-out to Radiklement for bearing with me asking for help 80 times with the same damn scene!
