Hey guys! Encountered a... frustrating problem. So I've been writing on Microsoft Word for all eternity. My new laptop's version once "expired" wants $100/year to let me continue to use the program. In the past I could just... ignore that message and keep using it.
So I tried to install another writing program. Despite having 3x the required space my laptop keeps saying inadequate space to install it.
So NOW I'm using google doc. My issue with this program is that if my wifi is acting up it lags so horribly that it's almost impossible to type. At the speed I type it's always 1-2 sentences behind so I essentially type blind. So I'm working on this but with the format changes it might cause hiccups posting this chapter, though I hope it still reads well.
Regis listened quietly while Noctis talked about recent events. He bit down on his bottom lip periodically, eyes flickering between his father's furrowed brow and the scratched plastic table of the trailer. He drummed his fingers against his thigh as he blinked through memories of those mangled husks of men in the beds of the Nifleheimer base, the voice of Titan, the faces of the people at the hunter hub who helped them. He felt cold fingers wrap around his hand and squeeze. He tried to give Lunafreya a smile, instead his lips were thinned and his brow furrowed. He let out a long sigh through his nose, turning his attention back to his father letting a silence hang between them for a moment.
"I first wish to ask are the both of you all right?" the King began, glancing between them. There was a pause before Lunafreya nodded, Noctis nodding shortly after her as his gaze fell back down upon the scratched table. "These have not been easy times." Regis sighed and sat back for a moment Noctis could see the regal King look more like a tired man.
"No." Noctis agreed, running his hands through his hair and blowing out a long breath. An ache throbbed through most of his body, a sharp burn developing in his lower back and running through his left leg, pins and needles taunting his toes. "My leg is acting up today." He mumbled, rubbing his thigh with the heel of his hand.
"Perhaps we could take a walk? Certain days a walk can ease the pain in my leg." Regis suggested. Noctis nodded, hoping to knead away this sensation in his leg. He glanced over at Lunafreya, and the dark circles that rimmed her eyes. He could see her trying to sit properly, though there was a slight slouch to her usual posture.
"Why don't you get some sleep while my dad and I walk?" He asked.
"Perhaps I should." She answered. Noctis slid to the edge of the little seat to allow her to get up. Her cheeks glowed pink for a moment before she stood on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek, settling back onto her heels and reaching for his hand. "When I wake back up perhaps we can go to Takka's for a meal and coffee?"
"Yeah, that'll be great." He agreed with a small smile that she returned. She gave his hand another squeeze and nodded at him to encourage him to follow his father out of the trailer.
"Enjoy your walk." She encouraged when he was still rooted to the spot, slipping her hand out of his and taking a step backwards to turn and climb onto the bed in the back of the trailer. Noctis let out a puff of air and ran a hand through his hair before finally joining his father. He clicked the door behind him and stepped down the unsteady stairs, rubbing at his thigh and tapping his leg to try and regain some normal sensation.
"How's Hammerhead been?" Noctis asked, unsure how to resume conversation. He glanced up the road, searching for smoke on the horizon, or black rectangles in the sky. He didn't hear his father's answer, "Did I do the right thing? Running away like that?"
"Running away?" Regis asked, Noctis stepping up his pace and eyes still scanning the distance.
"When those Nif airships were going to that hunter hub… They. They saved Luna's life and we just drove away when we saw the airships going there." Noctis cleared his throat after a brief stammer to recapture strength in his voice. The silence after his question hung thick in the air, his brow furrowing as his nose wrinkled.
"Sometimes situations leave us with only on option. Even if it's a wrong option." Regis finally replied. Noctis turned to his father, and saw the distance in his eyes before he turned his gaze to his son. "The wall around Insomnia." He stated simply, looking down at his ruined hand. Noctis flexed his own hand in mirror of how Regis curled the fresh scars on the mangled appendage. "Tell me son. What could I have done against all the might of Nifleheim." Another thick silence.
"There really wasn't anything." He finally answered, shifting his weight off his burning leg and dropping his hand by his side, fingers curled in a fist.
"Then what could the seven of you done against three airships of Nifleheim's MagiTek soldiers?" The wrinkle between Noctis's brow grew deeper as his lip twitched in a grimace. He looked over his shoulder again, at the clear blue sky. He wondered if Ramuh would have answered his call and simply fried the motherboards in the metallic brains of the puppets, or simply blow the airships out of the sky. He could hear Lunafreya's voice in the back of his mind scolding him for the thought. They aren't just some weapon I can summon to help us in the war. But if he could convince the astrals that fighting Niflehiem would help fight the blight?
"I could have helped." He chose to answer instead, voice deep with frustration. "Instead we just drove away!" he snapped.
"And I locked out ten citizens for every one I sheltered inside the wall."
"You had no choice." Noctis answered in a knee-jerk reaction. The words drilled into him since childhood. The answer automatically given by the media when the television or radio would start to recall the story of the wall's apparition. The explanation Ignis would remind him of when he grasped at any excuse to criticize his father with the idiocy of entering his teenaged years. The same answer Lunafreya would give him whenever he would succumb to the gnawing guilt and sorrow for leaving her behind the day Niflehim slaughtered her mother.
"No more choice than you had today." Regis closed the distance between him and his son, his good hand reaching out and landing hard and heavy on Noctis's shoulder. He could feel tears threatening to sing his eyes and he bit down on the back of his tongue to try and retain control of himself. He let go of the fists balled by his sides, fingertips prickling as blood rushed back into them.
"I'll get back at them." He ground out. Anger swept over the guilt and the sorrow of his actions, regret giving way to the threat of rage.
"Son… please. See reason. War is an ugly thing, but you cannot allow to cloud your mind. How is dearest Luna?" Regis asked. Noctis let out a long breath, running both hands through his hair, tugging at it slightly before dropping his hands by his sides.
"Better than before I guess. Or so she says. It's hard to tell sometimes, she still looks pretty tired." Noctis answered.
"She'll rebound with some rest." Regis answered, though Noctis didn't hear the usual conviction in his father's tone.
"Yeah." Noctis answered. "A part of me always thought, or hoped, the stuff with the astrals, the crystal… the blight. All of it. Was just some stupid story." He admitted to his father. He could remember sitting on the edge of a bed with white sheets while Lunafreya read to him from some book talking about the astrals. He imaged himself as some great hero standing in front of the astral, the giant who looked like a living statue, and beating him to defend the princess and save the day.
"When I took you before the crystal…" Regis began, hesitating. His eyes drifted to the ground, the limp in his walk becoming more noticeable. The waver in his stance made Noctis realize that his father didn't have his cane. "Deep down… I hoped you were not the chosen. I never wanted you to carry this burden." Noctis flinched hearing this from his father, a burning sensation starting in his stomach leaving the taste of bile in the back of his throat as he recalled that day.
Walking through the Citadel's dark corridors, he was led by his father and flanked by their shields, into a large chamber in which was a large crystal that looked more like a fractured amethyst geode. The air seemed to pulse around it like he was approaching a great sleeping beast, the air chilled and he clutched at his arms. He had hesitated at the doorway, the pulsing almost felt like sound, his name being called to urge him on. He stepped into the silent room, glancing up at his father who nodded at him, placing a hard hand on his shoulder. He approached the towering crystalline power, his heart throbbing in his chest matching the pulse in the air. His fingertips grew numb with the chill around him. A whine escaped him as she felt his muscles jerk, feeling like every inch of skin had received a static shock. The chill melted away and he felt altogether too hot. His breath quickened, and he ran a hand over his forehead already soaked with sweat. He flinched at the discomfort of it, looking at his hands and could see ice crystals building over them.
Noctis squinted and shook his head, remembering how his imaginings of being some amazing hero like in his comic books, or the knights in Lunafreya's books, vanished with the pain wracking his body. As magic settled into his veins and the throbbing in the air felt like his name being chanted from every direction. He had spent an entire day lost in a nightmare filled fever-induced sleep, the final moments inside that chamber lost to his memory. The magic of his ancestors had awakened, and his father had told him the crystal glowed forever more after that day. Noctis remember asking his father if he could hear, or rather feel, the odd pulsing in the air that had been chanting his name; Regis answering that the chamber was completely silent, even the usual echoes of the Citadel had failed to reach inside it.
"When Luna read me those books I don't think either of us thought it would be like this. Well… I didn't." He clarified after a moment and grimaced. He remembered Lunafreya's reserved letter after he wrote to her about the crystal choosing him, of her expressing her happiness that she knew he would be the one to save their star. He had expressed his own excitement when she was ordained as Oracle.
"It must be a powerful moment, to stand before an astral and be granted his blessing." Regis mused. Noctis's lip curled and he shook his head.
"Nothing that fancy. It just… sucks." He let out a long sigh, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "I don't know if it's the crystal, or our ancestors, or just the universe being an asshole. But its always harder for her to wake the astral up than it is for me to make the covenant. I just felt like I had the world's worst headache, then got hit by a car after. Luna… she was throwing up blood, had nosebleeds, got these weird red rashes and bruises. I thought this was just my burden. Why do they have to kick her ass too?" he asked, looking up at his father. Regis turned and saw frustration and sorrow in his son's eyes.
"I suppose I could recite to you a passage from any of the books on the astrals, or the words my own father gave to me when I was given the Ring." His expression relaxed and grew distant for a moment, his gaze fixed on something behind Noctis before his attention returned to his son. "But I think of your mother instead." Noctis shifted his weight between his legs hearing his father bring up the subject of his mother. He couldn't remember her, nor could he remember enough conversations about her to have a proper image of the woman in his mind. Only the picturesque mental image of a near-perfect human his childhood imagination had created to cope with her absence. "Destiny fucking sucks."
Noctis laughed. He couldn't help it. Hearing his father curse, imagining the Queen of Lucis standing there and cursing at the King. He pressed a fist under his nose and sniffled, trying to regain control of his voice as he recollected himself. The corners of Regis's eyes wrinkled as he smiled and reached out, patting Noctis firmly on the shoulder.
"Destiny does fucking suck." He agreed. "Just why does it have to suck for Luna too?"
"Aulea used to wonder the same thing, especially whenever I was forced to use the Ring. I recommend you get her something sugary to eat when she wakes up. Your mother used to always cheer me with cupcakes." Noctis's brows lifted at this,
"I didn't know you liked sweets."
"Just because I am King and must act accordingly, does not mean I was beyond devouring a plate of treats and rubbing frosting on your mother's nose." The image made Noctis smile again, picturing his father with a younger face streaking frosting down his mother's nose. He wondered what her laugh sounded like, and with a pain in his chest wondered what his father's laughter sounded like. Regis stepped closer, arms enveloping him and pulling him against his chest. The King's hands clapped hard against Noctis's back, and he reached up and returned his father's embrace. The two men stood there, arms around each other and wondering why the hell their family was the one selected by an angry interdimensional space rock to somehow kick an equally enigmatic diseases' ass.
"I do mean it, about the sugar. If I recall, Luna does have quite the sweet tooth."
"Yeah, she could even put me to shame in a sugar-wolfing contest." Noctis chuckled, and sniffled when he felt his nose about to run. He pressed his fist to his nose again, swallowing back the lump in his throat and blinking away the burning in his eyes. "Wonder if Takka has something."
"I'll let you in on a secret. The frosting-filled cupcakes in the store beats the hockey pucks Takka bakes. The man makes the best griddle food you could want, but by some curse cannot seem to master an oven." Noctis chuckled at Regis's suggestion, rubbing the heel of his hand under his eye to brush away the tear he felt moistening his skin. "Just don't tell him I said that."
"Your secret is safe with me."
"I know you plan to dine with Luna in a bit, but would you like to join me for coffee at the diner?"
"Yeah, I could go for coffee."
The inside of the diner was typically uncomfortably hot. The building lacked proper air conditioning and the summer sun bore down over head, the griddle pumping ever more heat into the small room . But this day there was a strong breeze that forced its way through the diner windows cooling off the boxcar sized building. It was still warmer than outside, and Noctis shrugged off his jacket a few moments after stepping inside. Regis led them to the booth at the far end, sitting down with a groan and stretching out his bad leg, brace creaking with the effot.
"Your Grace," Takka called over clumsily. "What can I do you for?"
"Just some coffee." Regis answered. Takka placed a mug in front of each of them as well as a small tin of cream, going back behind his counter. Noctis reached for the sugar packets, and lifted a brow when he saw his father doing the same.
"I thought you liked your coffee black?" Noctis asked, flicking the open ends of the packets to get all of the sugar to come out.
"Your mother liked cream and sugar in her coffee. She had a sweet tooth that could even put you to shame. It's likely where you got it from." Regis looked up to something behind Noctis, but the prince was preoccupied stirring some of the cream into his mug.
"Luna has a sweet tooth. Pretty sure she could just eat a sugar packet and be happy. Yet she drinks her coffee black. She's a little weird."
"Because she has good taste." Ignis's familiar voice answered. Noctis turned around and gave his friend a smile,
"Hey," he scooted in to make room.
"Your Grace," Ignis gave a bow, finally sitting after receiving a nod and a gesture from Regis.
"What's up Ig?" Noctis asked, taking a sip of his coffee, wincing, and reaching for another sugar packet. Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose, a subtle shake of his head before placing a book on the table.
"I've been reading. Trying to focus on our next destination." Noctis winced, covering it by bringing his mug to his mouth, this time satisfied by the sweetness of the drink. Ignis began to list the royal arms and their locations, the explanation turning into a word salad in his head, holding little meaning.
"So which one next?" he asked.
"The Tomb of the Mystic, it's near where you made the covenant withTitan." Ignis explained. Noctis gave an exasperated sigh.
"Wait what?!" he jerked, sitting up straight and setting his mug down. "How… how do we do that? The meteor came crashing down! Is that tomb even still there?" he made a mad gesture, both arms jutting out with his palms up, "And you remember how everything there was all… blighted?"
"It is worth the investigation. You must collect all the arms." Ignis insisted.
"I have to agree with Mister Scientia." Regis cut in, both young men shifting attention to the King. "You are ordained to collect the arms of your ancestors." Noctis grabbed his coffee, swirling it before taking a sip. His father didn't collect all of the ancestral weapons, yet the Ring didn't reject him, rather. But he didn't have to go and try to prove his worth to gods. He argued with himself.
"What happens if we get there and everything is buried?"
"Perhaps Titan would lend his aid." Ignis suggested. Takka approached the table with the new occupant, bowing to his King before asking for an order.
"Just coffee please." Ignis requested. Takka bowed again, Noctis shifting in his seat and taking the last swig of his coffee as the man left the table. "With the money we earned from doing hunts we need to stock up on provisions."
"Oh, good idea." Noctis answered. He reached into his pockets, a blue flash of sparks appearing for an instant and he placed an energy drink on the table. "I was down to one. And I'm guessing Gladio is almost out of cup noodle."
"A truly devastating fact. We must ensure such an emergency does not occur again."
"Lest the world fall to ruin. But some instant food is a good backup in case something happens." Noctis suggested. Ignis wrinkled his nose but nodded, admitting that dried foods had a use in certain situations.
"How is our Lady Lunafreya holding up?" Ignis asked.
"Napping in the trailer. I should get back soon. But how's everyone else? Where is everyone else?" Noctis asked, taking a quick glance outside.
"About," Ignis started, listing off his friends as if he were reading an inventory of their supplies. Aranea had left on the motorcycle to a nearby hub to purchase some parts Cid needed to tune the thing up, as well as a few components he needed for his own projects. Gladiolus had decided to join her to ensure the dragoon wouldn't vanish with the bike and Cid's money. Prompto was in the garage attempting to assist Cindy with something, Crowe sticking with him to make sure he didn't drive the poor mechanic crazy.
"Even with all this coffee I'm still trying not to faceplant this table, I think I'm gonna go back to the trailer." Noctis answered.
"Rest up. I advise we leave early tomorrow morning, it may take many hours to get to the tomb."
"Rest too man. Take care dad."
"Sleep easy." Regis replied with a tilt of his head. Noctis waved his father off and left the diner after placing a few gil on the table to pay for his coffee. A brief stop in the shop next to the garage to buy the treats for Lunafreya, as well as some energy drinks that vanished into his pocket and some cup noodles to surprise his Shield with later. The condoms took a moment of pension, nervous that the clerk would inform his father, or start rumors about the crowned Prince. But the man showed no interest in any of the times the purchased. He crossed the parking lot and stepped up into the trailer, the tin box almost uncomfortably hot, but without his jacket it was bearable. Lunafreya was curled on her side, the blanket on the bed kicked off to the edge of the bed, partway on the floor. He watched her for a moment, frowning when he realized her expression was alternating between wincing and relaxing, and the periodic twitch in her eye. Noctis approached the bed and leaned his weight on it,
"Luna?" he whispered to her, but she didn't stir. Her breath was coming through her nose in sharp huffs between normal breaths. He grimaced, watching her shift in her sleep, drawing her knees closer to her chest. He repeated her name, reaching out to lightly tap at her foot. She flinched, her eyes scrunching. "Luna! Hey! I think you're having a nightmare…" he called, raising his voice. She flinched again at his touch, her whimpers turning into a gasp as she rolled onto her back. She shot out her hand, a flash of light and a shield appeared at the end of the bed, pushing him away and he fell back hitting the floor with a grunt.
"N… Noct?" she called out with a quiver to her voice. She had to clear her throat to rid herself of the gravel in her tone, calling his name again with more clarity.
"Ugh… wow… didn't expect that…" he murmured, standing up and rubbing at his buttock and lower back. The impact with the floor reignited the flame in his back and leg, the pain surging back and he had to lean against the foot of the bed. "startled me is all." He tried to assure her. She pressed her palms to her forehead, rubbing roughly and blinking the blur from her vision.
"I'm in the trailer?" she asked, looking around with furrowed brows.
"Yeah. Remember? We came in here so you could take a nap." He explained to her. "Well. We had… less innocent intentions," he added with a smirk. He looked up to her, hoping to see her returning the silly grin but she was still pouting, brow knit tightly together.
"Sorry that was… A bizarre dream." She sighed, "Did I knock you over? Did I dream that too?" she asked, crawling over to the foot of the bed. Noctis reached out to keep her from sliding off of it, his hands on her knees. She settled herself to sit on the edge, reaching out to brush some hair from his face. "I did… didn't it?" she asked. The furrow deepened and her frown drew lines around her mouth and nose.
"Nightmare?"
"I… Yes." Noctis climbed onto the bed beside her, sliding his arm around her waist to urge her to lean her weight against him. He had to tug her to get her to follow his prompt. She leaned over, nesting her head against his arm and let out a long sigh.
"What was it about?"
"I suppose recent events must have been running through my head. Black airships dropped down puppets, but all of them were Titan, and all of them were covered in black swirls. But somehow we were indoors?" she voice raised with confusion as she tried to recall the rapidly fading images. She rubbed her arms, "but they didn't attack us. One of them was just a usual Magitek puppet but… when it talked it sounded like Caligo." She remembered an old nightmare, wrists throbbing with phantom pain, and she looked down at her palms to ensure that her flexing fingers were indeed still there. "He wanted to study my light. Like Crowe always calls me sparklefingers? My fingertips glow when I call my light… Caligo wanted my hands to give them to Verstael." She listed quickly.
"Well that creepy dude is really far away." Noctis tried to assure her. She shook her head, hair tickling his arm.
"What If he was on those airships? You know how much Caligo and Verstael want me back in Nifleheim's custody and those airships came after us because of our phones. Like my brother warned." She was talking quickly, starting to stumble through her words, a tremor finding its way back into her voice. "They might be looking for me… for you. All of us."
"Your brother would have told you if Caligo or Verstael, or any of those really creepy assholes were personally looking for you." Noctis tried to assure her, but felt the same seed of doubt in his own chest, heart beginning to pound faster. But he tried to assure himself that they had put enough distance between themselves and the hunter hub prior to the apparition of the ships. The guilt struck again, and he bit down hard on his bottom lip.
"My brother may be high-ranking in the military of Niflehiem, but he is not automatically privy to any and all information about tactical movements. Especially if it concerns me. I doubt Caligo would admit to my brother if he planned to collect me for himself." She countered. Her hands knit together in her lap, goosebumps rolling down her arm.
"Caligo has his head so far up his own ass the only thing he can see is the backs of his teeth. He'll never find you." Noctis tried to assure her. He turned his head and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
"If only I could banish him from my mind." She sighed, scratching at the back of her hand, curling her legs in to sit cross-legged, knees bouncing. "I suppose I have a suggestion to aide me in my quest." She turned her head to catch his eye, her frown turning into a nervous smile, biting down on her bottom lip.
"I should get up and lock the trailer door." He answered, managing to smile back at her. "I should also place a curse on the door so anyone who tries to interrupt us again gets blown up."
"Honestly, sometimes I swear others have a psychic detection for when we wish to be left alone!" she sighed, dropping herself back against the bed once Noctis drew his arm away from her to get up from the bed. She could still feel the echo of fear knocking at the back of her mind. The flashes of the nightmare that remained wanted to come to the forefront of her memory. Focus on here. She told herself. She listened to Noctis's footsteps crossing the trailer, the creak as he leaned to the door, the click of the lock. She took in a long breath of hot summer air, and letting it out slowly while Noctis walked back over to her. The bed creaked again as he climbed up. He laid down next to her, reaching a hand out to brush against hers.
Lunafreya turned, finally opening her eyes and giving Noctis a smile as she rolled up onto her side, one arm tucked beneath her head. She reached her arm out, palm resting against Noctis's jaw below his ear, fingertips tickling his skin and urging him to close the distance between them. Her eyes fluttered back closed, letting out a long sigh through her nose. Noctis hummed against her mouth, waiting a moment before his tongue pushed against her lips. She responded to his prodding, opening her mouth to allow him to taste their kiss, her own hum vibrating against his mouth.
"I'll take this as you're feeling better?" Noctis asked her.
"A bit sore… but yes, better." She shifted a bit in the bed as if to test her answer. Noctis groaned and sat up, feeling an electric burning pain shoot through his back and down his leg, extending it and rubbing roughly at his thigh.
"Yeah… I hear you on the sore thing." He answered her.
"Your old wound bothering you?" She asked, shifting herself up to sit across from him.
"Yeah. Guess having your ass kicked by an astral takes it out of you," he replied with a forced chuckle. He was kneading the muscle of his thigh with a grunt, his foot giving a twitch when another sharp jolt ran the length of the limb.
"Here…" Lunafreya offered, fingertips glowing with a dim light.
"No!" Noctis snapped, causing her to flinch. He reached out and held her wrists to halt her approach. Her brow came together and a frown pulled her lips, tugging against his hands until he released his grip.
"I'm okay." She insisted, but he shook his head.
"You need rest. You don't need to use your light on a sore leg. It's just always going to hurt once in a while." He insisted.
"Well… at least let me help," she offered instead, holding up her hands and making a spin around gesture at him. "No light, I promise." She added when he hesitated. He spun himself around and scooted back with another command from her. She started at his shoulders, alternating between her thumbs and the heels of her hands as she worked rough circles. "How's this?" asked, feeling heat in her cheeks. His skin was lightly damp beneath her hands, punctuating the heat inside the trailer.
"Feels good." He murmured back, lolling his head forward. The way his shoulders slacked encouraged her, and she leaned forward to press a kiss into the crook of his neck while rubbing circles into the knots she could find. Noctis felt chills roll through him from her touch, from her kiss. He bit his lip to keep from moaning. Her breath was warm against his neck while she lowered her hands, another jolt shooting through his back when the heel of her hand rubbed the top of the scar on his back. He twitched at it, and her warmth and her touch retreated. "Sorry," she frowned and chewed her lip at the way she saw him flinch.
"No no… don't stop. That zing felt good." He countered quickly. "Seriously. That hurt in like… a good way?"
"You're odd." She chuckled. To his relief her hands went back to work, and his shoulders shrugged when her breath tickled him before her lips sent another wave of goosebumps through him. "But I must be too, for I am deeply in love with you." She whispered. He smiled, finding his heart throbbing.
"I love you too," he whispered back. He bent his left knee once her hands reached his lower back, the angle forcing her to draw back from where she had been leaving trails of kisses from beneath his ear, to the crook of his neck where her lips would linger, and her tongue would taste his skin. He whined at her withdrawal, but the clumsy patterns she was massaging into his scar was easing the tension in his old wound, the jolts shooting down his legs when she hit a specific spot was easing the burning pain it, replacing it with a dull ache that made him think of how it felt to get off his feet after a long day.
"Better?" she asked after a few minutes of quiet, save for the odd grunt or sigh from Noctis. He nodded, rolling his shoulders and sitting up straight, Lunafreya sitting back and folding her hands into her lap.
"Yeah. A lot actually." He answered, giving his leg a test rub but there was no burning, or the feeling of electric shocks. He used his palms against the bed to help him shift back around, sitting cross-legged across from her, smiling and relaxing that the position didn't render his foot numb. "You should let me return the favor," he suggested.
"Isn't this the point where you simply lie back, mumbling something about being sleepy and pass out on a disappointed Lady?" She asked with a smirk.
"I mean, I could sleep." He dropped himself back, closing his eyes.
"Perhaps the Prince would best be left alone to slumber?" she quipped, the bed creaking as she moved to the edge of it. Noctis got back up and sat up on his knees, leaning forward to wrap his arms around her waist and tugged her back to him, her back pressed against his chest as he tilted his head to nip at her ear. She shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head, a giggle escaping her throat. He chuckled too and the sensation rumbled against the side of her neck, and now it was her turn to have goosebumps rolling down her arms. She whispered his name, Noctis replying by whispering hers back, pressing a gentler kiss to that spot just below her ear and tightening his grip around her waist.
His fingers bunched up the fabric of her shirt and his fingers felt warm against her skin. She could feel the sheen of sweat on his forehead as he nuzzled her, and brought a hand to her own forehead feeling suddenly too self-aware, flushing when she found her own skin damp with sweat and feared she might smell bad. But it seemed Noctis didn't share the same concern, undisturbed by the effects of their close contact with the heat. He reached across her front, pushing his fingers against her jaw to turn her head while he leaned to the side to capture her lips with his once again. The arm still around her waist tugged her yet harder, the other lacing through her hair. The shreds of her nightmare finished fading away as she felt entirely safe encompassed in his arms. She tried to shift her weight back against him even more, both her hands pressing over the one holding against her hip.
"So to prove I'm not a complete slacker… I did promise to return the favor." He mumbled between kisses to the top of her shoulder. She nearly warned him not to leave mark from habit, his gentle kisses not like his usual nips or sucks. When he drew back from her she shifted to make herself more comfortable, and he his hands came to her shoulders. He mirrored the way she eased his tension, staring with her shoulders and slowly moving down her back. When his hands finally drew back she flopped back so her head was resting in his lap, eyes looking up into his and they exchanged smiles at each other.
"I could sleep for a week." She sighed, closing her eyes.
"I thought I was treating you to dinner? I even got you some goodies for dessert." He countered. He tossed the idea around in his head in staying in Hammerhead for a few days so she could get that week of sleep. He knew no one would argue about a prolonged rest, enjoying Takka's food. He wished he could cave to the irresponsible impulse. He played with Lunafreya's hair, wishing he could give her the time needed to rest and recover. She closed her eyes and sighed in response to the attention he was giving her. He gave her a few more moments of light touches before urging her to turn around.
"Bribing my sweet tooth to get me to get myself up from bed? Now that's simply not fair." She pouted, knitting her brow and pouting her lip. "I suppose I cannot argue with food. However, I had… other intentions before we sacrifice our solitude." She smirked. They shifted in the bed so they were once again angled so Lunafreya's head rested against the pillows, Noctis lying over her. She started with the hem of his shirt, bringing it up over his head and casting it aside. She trailed her fingers down his chest, letting her thumb roll over his nipple before continuing to trace him, letting go only when her own shirt was bunched beneath her arms and she had to lift them for Noctis to cast aside her top. His fingertips brushed down her sides, eyes flickering over her body and capturing her gaze. His touch was feather-light, and she squirmed at how it made her tickle.
"I won't break you know," she teased, pressing both her hands against his and biting her bottom lip as she pressed them firmly against her breasts, "you can touch me," she punctuated.
"I just… don't want to hurt you. After, you know… everything. You-"
"Needing rest and being made of glass are entirely different things." She interrupted. She sat herself up, releasing her grip on one of his hands to reach up behind his neck, helping to pull herself up as well as urge him down so their lips could meet. The kiss was clumsy and wet, tongues desperate to taste each other their breaths warm against the other's mouth, the other's cheek as they let out long nasal sighs. Both of Noctis's hands kneaded Lunafreya's breasts before reaching for the hem of her pants, earning a delighted hum from his Princess. They made love, slow and gentle. Noctis still hesitant to use a rushed or rough pace. But she still writhed beneath him, breathy sighs and whispered moans. He wanted to urge her to use her voice, to give sound to her moans.
When he drew back from her, both panting and sated as he rested back against the bed, Lunafreya pressed against his side with one arm looped around her shoulders and her arm spread across his chest as they came down from their high. They let the quiet hang between them, both pondering letting the call of sleep take them. But hunger grew stronger than fatigue.
"Why don't we just snack on the sweets you bought? Then we can go get some real food after a proper nap?" Lunafreya suggested.
"I think we both know once we go to sleep we're down for the count. Besides, pretty sure my dad would slap the back of my head and Ignis have a stroke if we had dessert before dinner." He answered, and she laughed before sitting up and reaching for her clothing while he did the same. They dressed and slid from the bed. Lunafreya moved to cross the small trailer, but Noctis caught her and drew her back against him, pressing his lips once more into the crook of her neck.
"Noct!" she half-chided, half-giggled, squirming as his arms tightened. "You'll made me lose my senses again."
"Maybe that's my intention?"
"We both know once food is on your mind nothing else matters." She rolled her eyes, and he laughed, pressing his damp forehead against her shoulder. "Do you think the others suspect anything?" She felt her cheeks heat up and her smile fade as her eyes fell upon the door.
"No," Noctis answered quickly. "Everyone's too busy to pay attention to the trailer." His answer only made her flush harder.
"So they're all working hard while we're in here indulging?"
"I wouldn't say that. Prompto is probably flirting with Cindy anyway. We might want to go rescue the poor girl by giving him something to do." He added with a chuckle. She smiled again, and gave a small nod.
"Well. Let's go eat."
An interlude chapter focused on character interaction? From ME? **shocked gasp**
Okay for real though, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one the gang gets back on the road!
