Author's Notes: *cue the scene from Mulan when Mushu awakens from his sleep*

I LIIIIIVVVVEEEE!

Semester is FINALLY over! I am so fucking sorry for the lack of updates and adding to the story. I am so thankful for everyone who has subscribed to this story. I am so surprised at the reviews I have received as well, thanks to you guys I will finally be able to get back to work on this fic. Hopefully I can finish it this summer since my next semester starts at the end of August and I sure as hell will not have time to write then due to a full credit schedule. Plus it has already been up for 2 whole years and my ass needs to do better. I have plot bunnies that need to be written aside from this one based on the various adventures I have gone on with my own chocobros. Please look forward to future chocobro writings.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot that it is going along on. Otherwise, it all belongs to Square Enix and their respective owners. Don't bother suing me, you will find I am one broke ass fool in love with FFXV.

Recapping Events so far: Noctis and the bros are in Altissia for the rite of the Hydrean. Noctis started off rooming separately from the bros and was visited by Lunafreya before she was caught by the chancellor. A conversation with the first secretary of Altissia has led to her rehousing both Lunafreya and Noctis in a safe house somewhere in the city. The bros have finally met the Oracle, while also being filled in on the side about the relationship Noctis had with Stella while he lived back home in Insomnia. Noctis publicly makes a statement that he plans on going into open war with the Empire while publicly admitting he plans on marrying the Oracle, not for the benefit of the Empire but because he loves her. Ravus meanwhile has been plotting with Aranea on securing Lunafreya after the rite as well as securing the safety of the citizens of Tenebrae, all the while keeping Loqi in the dark. The couple does plan on eloping before the rite, went on a date, fought about an interaction with Stella in a restaurant before reconciling and going back to their place….

And now back to our story! Enjoy….

Flashback (Two Years Ago)

Stella sat in the lobby of the Citadel, unsure of why she was there in the first place. She and Noctis were set to have dinner with Noctis' father this evening since it was his birthday. She had been so excited that he agreed to have dinner with them, Noctis saying his father was looking forward to meeting the lovely lady that was "distracting his son from all his responsibilities." She smiled to herself at the thought. 'The way he talks about his father is so adorable. You can completely tell there is a strong bond with them, even if he works a lot.'

There were several other people in the lobby of the Citadel as well, a pair of secretaries at the main desk, taking calls and transferring them to various other lines; a couple of guards outside the elevator hallway, clearly members of the famous Kingsglaive that she had learned about in class, the signature uniform unmistakable in recognition. She also noticed a trio of young men in all black sitting opposite of her. One had blonde hair and held a camera on his lap, the other was extremely built with tattoos on his arms, and the third was sharp dressed brunette with glasses, talking to the other two while occasionally stealing glances her way. She figured that they were all taking turns looking at her when she noticed the chatter between one or two while the third looked her way. They rotated the pattern every minute to minute and a half. To be frank, it was rather irritating to Stella but she didn't want to make a scene or cause Noctis' father any trouble. So she sat there and waited, quietly but annoyed.

She didn't have to wait long, as before she felt the urge to get up and confront them about the staring, Noctis walked up to her, coming from the elevator. The trio stood at the same time as he entered but they headed to the elevators, ignoring the pair as they spoke silently.

"Are you alright?" Noctis asked curiously, noticing the tension in her shoulders. Stella watched the trio until they were out of sight before turning her attention back to the young man before her.

"I'm sorry. It's just those three guys were making me uneasy. Am I underdressed? Is there something on my face?" She asked calmly but slightly anxious.

Noctis looked over his shoulder to see who she was speaking of, only to see no one there. He turned back to Stella and gave her a look over to see she wasn't under dressed for dinner with his father. "Stella, you look gorgeous tonight. It could possibly be that they found you as beautiful as I do. Or maybe your beauty just took them by surprise." He shrugged his shoulders, his face mixed with humor and wonder, causing her to giggle at his actions. "I'm sorry Noct, I just let my fears get the best of me. After all, I am in the Citadel, safest place in the city." She smiled at him, taking his arm to link around, "So, when do we meet your dad?" Noctis smiled warmly, we are heading up to see him now, he's still in his meeting."

Altissian Restaurant

"Eos to Stella!?"

Quickly blinking out of her daze, she smiled at her friends who were worried when she didn't answer the question about who the handsome young man in black was to her.

'It has been two years since I have seen Noct, yet there he is, with the Oracle, having dinner like a normal guy. He's matured more and definitely has gotten more handsome with age. Crazy to think we were an item two years ago.'

"Stella, who is he? You are staring at him pretty hard, not to mention you have this nostalgic look to your expression." She heard her close friend Layla call to her. Stella picked up a glass of champagne and took a sip, "He is my ex-boyfriend from my college days in Insomnia."

The other girls at the table all raised their eyebrows in shock and stole quick looks at the Lucian King before he left the restaurant, shocked at how good looking he was.

"That doll? You guys dated?" was all Layla could say.

Stella nodded, "Yes, for an entire year. He was my first love in a great many ways."

Stella watched Noctis leave, wondering if he was going to chase after the Oracle, who was quite frantic in her movements suddenly. 'I wonder, if I had never pushed him away for lying to me, would I be the girl he looked at with such love and affection? Would he chase me the way he does her?'

She sat back and finished the glass, going back to the conversation they were having before she had seen him earlier in the evening.

Outside with Noctis & Luna

"I am getting married tomorrow night at the church. Bring Ravus with you," Luna stated cheerfully. She smiled at the expression of the commodore. "Commodore? Are you alright? You seem kind of pale." Luna asked calmly.

"You're getting married the day after tomorrow, and you want me to bring Ravus? You are aware that he will object? Immediately?" Aranea folded her arms across her chest at the thought of her commander becoming the person who objected to his sister's wedding.

Noctis answered instead of Luna this time, "He can object but it will be hard to do while gagged." He had a huge grin on his face, letting Aranea know he was joking around. She smiled at him in return, "I will definitely remember to gag him tomorrow then."

Noctis smiled at her and replied, "Thank you Aranea."

The Next Morning

Luna opened her eyes slowly, ignoring the sunlight that was directly in her eyes. She was too comfortable in her bed, not worrying about the chancellor or her brother randomly dropping by. She felt safe, for the first time in years, she felt at home. Comfortable. Secure. She turned away from the sun, to see the reason why she felt the way she did fast asleep beside her.

'Is this what it feels like? What it is to truly be in love with someone so much that you feel safe, secure and even happy? He is absolutely precious sleeping here.' She looked at the ring on her hand and felt herself smile deeply. "He really proposed. It seems so surreal." she whispered to herself.

Luna then looked back to Noctis, blushing slightly at the memories of the night before, 'Mother and Gentiana always said that a man who truly loved and treasured me would make me blush the morning after but I never imagined in my wildest dreams that Noctis had the stamina or the patience to treat me so gently. I guess everyone has him pinned as a lazy prince completely wrong. He certainly put in the work.' Luna felt her face heat up more at the thought and instead chose to direct her attention back to Noctis.

Noctis' hair was completely down, none of his signature spikes protruding from the various spots she knew he styled it in. His eyes were closed as he breathed deeply and serenely, the peaceful features almost childlike in nature. She brushed his bangs out of his eyes and smiled at the way he pulled her into his arms, nestling his head into her chest, a quiet groan escaping him. She began to stroke his head softly and gently, enjoying his warmth while they cuddled. Luna felt her eyes begin to close and sleep come to claim her again when the sound of vibrations on the dresser caused Noctis to groan loudly and shift from the spot he was in.

"It's too early for this shit…" he grumbled as he picked up his phone and answered the call. "What?" was all he said, causing Luna to stifle a giggle.

"Specs, it is too early for you to be calling me. I am sure Prom and Gladio would appreciate your early bird behavior but I don't start to function properly till at least noon."

Ignis held back a laugh at the comment, knowing that it was precisely noon and he was simply calling to inform him of their late morning visitors at Maahgo. Taking a deep breath and exhaling deeply he replied, "Noct, it is precisely noon. I know you are not fully functional before then and figured your date with her highness went well. However, I am in the presence of-" the sound of phone being snatched away mid sentence made Noctis sit up in the bed. "Specs?"

What he wasn't expecting was the voice on the other line, "Caelum, we need to talk. Man to man before you saunter down the aisle with my sister. Meet me at the statue of the Hydrean in exactly twenty minutes. If you don't show, I am coming to find you. And I can promise you, my fist will connect with your face. The metal one." With that the line went dead, making Noctis groan in annoyance.

"So when is it fully acceptable to punch your brother in the face?" he asked as he put the phone down and began to get out of bed. Luna felt her eyebrow rise at the inquiry but smiled, "Perhaps later on? Why did he say something to rile you up?" Noctis grinned while looking back at his fiancee, taking in the sight of her. 'She really is still here with me. It wasn't a dream. Maybe this meeting with Ravus won't go so bad.' He is drawn out of his thoughts by Luna calling him, he smiles and responds, "Yes?"

"You asked me if it was okay to hit him? I asked you if he riled you up?" Luna replied, staring at the king in mild amusement. Noctis smiled and kneeled back into bed, kissing his soon to be queen on her forehead, "I just have to meet him in twenty minutes. So I am showering and heading out. Don't want to piss off my brother in law to be any more than he already could be." Pulling away from her he made his way to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Luna laid back in bed and let the sound of Noctis in the shower lull her back to sleep.

Maahgo

The guys were all staring in absolute disbelief when the High Commander and Commodore walked off the gondola while the cafe was still closed for a few more minutes. Cid had decided to drink himself into a miniature coma the night before causing Weskham to call Ignis first thing in the morning. While Ignis had offered to retrieve Cid when Weskham called, Weskham insisted that he would be fine with Cid on the floor until at least eleven thirty later that morning. What none of them were expecting was to be followed by the two Imperial leaders shortly after they had arrived.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gladio felt himself get hostile while asking the white haired prince about the his presence. Even though he had gone through the trial of the Blademaster and proven himself a worthy shield to the king, Gladiolus was still a bit bitter about the encounter he last had with the High Commander of Niflheim. "Don't you have anything better to do than to harass other people?"

Ravus merely ignored the rather annoyed Amicitia and made his way over to Ignis, "Where is your spoiled brat of a king?" Ignis felt his eyebrows raise at the way Ravus referred to his king. "I don't know any spoiled brats aside from the one whining in front of me," was his response, the sharpness of his tone causing Aranea to hide her smile behind her hand. Ignis held back the smirk that he knew would come, instead making some distance between the two of them, adjusting his glasses and taking a sip of his Ebony, freshly brewed when they had gotten off the gondola.

"Now, if you are looking for Noctis," he continued casually, sipping more Ebony. "I am afraid I am not at liberty to disclose his current location. I have duty to protect both my king and his future queen, along with all of these other fine gentlemen present. I can however, make a phone call for you. I would do this for you but only if you can exercise that etiquette your mother taught you as a child. I know it has been a long time since you behaved in a civilized manner but some of us are extremely particular about royals using their manners. After all, your sister has proven to have excellent etiquette skills, however I expected nothing less of the Princess of Tenebrae."

Ravus felt his jaw lock up at the insinuation that he was an uncultured commoner. He knew he had the proper etiquette of any royal but living in the crux of Imperial reign does wear on your emotions as well as your customs and values. It wasn't that he didn't use any of his manners but more that he hadn't been placed in a proper enough scenario to use them outside of the occasional begging for mercy from the Chancellor for his sister's safety. Which truly proved to be a massive pain in the ass to Ravus.

Taking a deep breathe, he exhaled calmly, "Scentia, would you please call your king? I am fully aware that he is with my sister and I very much would like to speak to his face to face and man to man. If that is not too much of a hassle for you." The last line oozing with a sense of sarcasm and annoyance that cause Aranea to full on laugh out loud at.

Gladio and Prompto felt their jaws drop at the wording used to ask for Ignis to help Ravus, Weskham felt himself choking on his coffee from the shock while Aranea had simply focused on sobering up herself from laughing so hard. "I-I-I-I….." was all Ignis could say, being genuinely shocked. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Noctis' number, waiting for him to pick up.

"Specs, it is too early for you to be calling me. I am sure Prom and Gladio would appreciate your early bird behavior but I don't start to function properly till at least noon."

"Noct, it is precisely noon." Ignis replied looking at his wrist watch. "I know you are not fully functional before then and figured your date with her highness went well. However, I am in the presence of-" The phone was snatched away before he could even finish the sentence. 'Ravus moves faster than I had expected him to,' Ignis thought to himself. He watched the white haired prince quickly threaten Noctis and then hung up the phone, returning it to him before turning and walking back over to the gondolas. He stopped and turned to the group still standing in absolute disbelief.

"I am going to meet with Noctis. Have some common sense of decorum and stay here like good puppies." With that, he got on the gondola and left all of them there in absolute disbelief. "Uh, Aranea?" Prompto began slowly. "I thought you two came together?" Aranea had let out another deep laugh, "I am just here to make sure you don't interrupt their meeting. Ravus needs to do this." They all looked at her as if they were chocobos in the road.

"Just trust him."

In Front of the Statue

Noctis had made it with two minutes to spare, breathing calmly as he noticed Ravus was nowhere to be found. 'I swear to the Six, if this jackass set me up, I am going to kill him. Possibly with my bare hands.' Noctis thought to himself as he read the plaque on the front of the statue. He had thrown on a good portion of the suit he was wearing last night since he honestly had no clue where Luna put all of his clothes when he went out to tailor his suits Ignis bought. He was beginning to think he was being watched, after all he stood out horribly with his all black attire without any of his friends around him.

Ravus came from behind, tapping Noctis on the shoulder, holding a cup of coffee in both hands. Hearing Ignis tell Noctis he was aware of the lack of functionality before noon made him feel some sympathy for the young king, after all, Aranea had pep talked him through his plans for this conversation.

Flashback

Aranea sat at the desk with the commander, reading finalization reports and new updates over breakfast and chatting about what he should wear for Luna's wedding. Aranea was going to accompany him, making a call to Biggs and Wedge to get her a slim black and red evening gown for her to wear as well as matching heels. She also gave them the measuring information for Ravus, informing them to get a black and white suit for him that matched similarly to his uniform.

"What are you thinking about?" Aranea asked him after she got off the phone with Biggs.

"I wanna talk to Caelum before he goes down the aisle with Lunafreya. I need to see for myself if he really is in love with my sister like you say."

Aranea smiled at his need to be a big brother, "Well, what are you going to do if you can get past the pack of wolves?"

"Punch him." Ravus replied calmly and without any form of hesitation.

"Ravus! How the hell does that work?"

"It is just the natural reaction I have for him. It kinda has been since we were younger. I hate that stupid look of his face whenever he looks at me. It almost feels like I am being looked down upon." Ravus stated quietly, almost to himself. He looked at the dragoon, brows furrowed, "What do you suggest I do then?"

Aranea felt herself sit up straight, "Are you seriously asking me for help?" She thought she was going to fall out of her seat when he nodded solemnly. "Are you going to follow the advice I give to you?" He nodded again, feeling belittled slightly. She took a deep breath, and steeled her gaze before replying, "Talk to him. Start with offering a drink, coffee, tea, maybe an alcoholic drink if you feel too nervous. But tell him that you're coming to him as a brother looking out for his sister, not as enemies. You are looking out for her and you wanna try to bury the hatchet of animosity between the two of you. Be mature and try to keep the damn sarcasm to a bare minimum. Treat him with the same amount of respect that you would expect yourself to have recieved."

Ravus raised an eyebrow, "That's it?" Aranea nodded, "Yes. Talk to him like an adult. Not as an adult belittling a child or making him seem like he is less than you. Pretty boy is pretty easy to talk to." Ravus sighed, "Must you call him that?" She smirked at the comment, "Yes, I must. Cause he truly is." Ravus got up and walked to his wardrobe, opening it and pulling out a casual outfit, "Six give me the strength."

Back in the Present

Noctis sat on one end of the bench and sipped the coffee, watching Ravus who sat next to him drinking his own coffee. "Thanks for the coffee, it helps." Noctis felt himself say. Ravus nodded in reply, "It was the least I could do as a peace gesture between us so early." Noctis felt himself snort at the comment.

"So what did you call me here for? Are you really going to hit me?" Noctis felt himself ask with a smile forming on his face.

"No, I honestly want to see the man that says he is marrying my sister. I had to see for myself if you were a man like Aranea said." Ravus replied, a playful tone in his voice.

"I proposed to her because I love her Ravus, the treaty could shove it. All that matters is Luna being happy." Noctis stated, turning to Ravus, his eyes still cool and casual but firm in their resolve. Ravus turned to Noctis as well, putting his cup down by his feet, "So, is there a ring?"

Noctis smiled at the question, "Yes Ravus, I made sure to get down on one knee and everything. I was surprised to see her cry when I proposed to her." This caused Ravus to smile. "She always is so reserved but whenever it came to you, Noctis, I saw an impulsive, irrational at times, and madly in love girl. She adores you. So much that I honestly grew to hate you because of it." Noctis felt his eyes widen at the honest confession from his future brother in law.

"I'm sorry," was all he could say to Ravus. This caused Ravus to shake his head, "No need to apologize. I just need to know that you love her as much as she does you. That you will protect her in my stead. I know she is the Oracle and all that but she is still just a woman, who is clearly in love and you are the reason why. Promise Noctis, when you say your vows to her tomorrow night that you will truly and genuinely mean them. She is all I have left in this world. She is literally the reason why I am still breathing, why the empire has my loyalty, why Izunia has me wrapped around his fingers. Promise me, you will protect her from him, I cannot place it but I know there is something malicious about him whenever he looks at her when no one else watches him."

"Ravus…" Noctis said calmly but with surprise deep in his voice. "I swear to you… she is safe with me. She is all I have ever

wanted in this life. To see her happy, smiling without forcing it."

The pair sat in silence, finishing their coffees, unaware of all the people they were close to watching their conversation, smiles on their faces.

Author's Comments: Well this brings us to the end of the chapter. This is the longest chapter I have written so far! Damn I feel somewhat accomplished on that. Here is hoping that the wedding happens next chapter! Also, I tried to slowly bring all the players I have included so far into the web full circle. Remember to review and let me know what you guys think!