So I was more inspired for Stranded once again. Or well, I had more written on it already. I'm moving in a few days, not very far really, same block, new floor, but it still involves extensive packing. I can't wait to be settled in my stuff again and regain some mental efficiency. Today's chapter has flash backs, including child Ignis and the start of his backstory! And Ravus's bashing. And hurt/comfort for Noctluna. 😊

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Stranded

Chapter 11 – Family is something you make for yourself

Too many years ago…

When his mother had first mentioned a vacation, Ignis thought of a day or two in the comfort of their home, making themselves a nest with blankets to read, drinking tea with too much sugar and the occasional humming. Ever since his father's death, his mother had grown more and more secluded, pushing herself to attend social events since her lineage dictated she did.

She had declined her seat on the council and while King Regis tried to make her more comfortable, the fact he'd enrolled her boy to be advisor and tutor to prince Noctis hadn't helped the resentment lady Scientia held toward him. She was proud of her son and wanted him to graduate from the royal academy and knew his job would give him stability, power and status. It was hard to see her six-year-old thrust into the adult world when he should have been carefree and oblivious.

Of course, it was hard to say whether the boy had ever been carefree. His father passed away when he was a mere toddler and the gaping hole in his family had left him looking for solace in books, treaties and rules as soon as he could read them by himself. A prodigy by all accounts, Ignis had always been eager to learn, his thirst for knowledge partially due to the anthologies and history books his mother read for him. The Scientia family was made of thinkers, scientists and while she still grieved her loss, Ignis's mother kept at one thing, and that thing was research. A summit in Galdyn Quay had gotten her more excited than the 8-year-old advisor could remember and he was pretty excited to see it for himself. Getting a break from the prince and his fussy baby brother wasn't a bad thing either.

…

"Mom?!"

Someone had just blown up. Not something, it wasn't an experiment gone wrong, Ignis was trying to understand what he'd just seen, but he couldn't. His ears rang, and his mother had been closer to it, since her own presentation was right after the commencement speech. Now the ranks of scientists and nobles were a mess of confused and/or wounded people. He was one of the only kids around, dressed in a three-piece suit, his hair carefully styled. The air had a metallic smell, covered with something else, like charred meat, although it made his stomach protest.

Don't call out, she can't hear anything either.

Keeping his head straight in any situation was his strength and he wasn't sure if he should be glad. He didn't need the logical conclusions his brain was drawing.

She's dead. She has to be fine. The war is happening. This can't be real. Good thing the King's not here. Who cares?!

His left hand was bleeding from a shard of glass which had flown his way, but he was too shocked to notice. Red lights in the dark sky announced the coming of dropships. There was no alarm ringing, no weapon raised, merely people screaming and hurriedly getting to their feet to run for cover.

Their long dresses were getting in the way and their feet sank in the blood-stained sand, making it almost impossible to run.

Someone had blown up and amidst the chaos, Ignis realized his mother was trying to piece that person together. He could only catch glimpses of her with everyone running around. He was thrown to the ground by a pair of strangers and curled into a ball as it soon turned clear trying to move would only get him trampled. When someone picked him up, he shrieked, struggling to get back on his own two feet. His heart was thumping madly, the taste of bile in his mouth making him hack on his own breath.

He wasn't going to let anyone pull him away from his mother when things were this hectic. A bite to the wrist at his would-be rescuer, as inelegant as that solution was, and he tumbled to the ground with a yelp.

"Iggy? Iggy, wherever you are, stay do…!"

Gunshots hurt his ears right after her warning and he dug his face into the sand, quivering like a leaf. She never used his nickname in public, because it made him feel too childish for his duties and it was hard to be taken seriously by most of the maids and guards in the Citadel. He wished she'd call him Iggy in front of anyone if it meant not hearing a gunshot or the thumps that followed them again. The screams had turned to gasping breath and the firing stopped as abruptly as it had started.

"Lady Fulmina Scientia, I presume?"

The voice rising in the chaos was cold and when Ignis looked up, his eyelids desperately trying to push away the ashes falling and the sand floating up, he saw a man in his thirties, clad in armor. He stood next to his mother, eyes calculative, ablaze with renewed interest. He held a sword to her throat.

"What is it you want?" Fulmina asked, barely controlling her breathing.

Don't take my mom, Ignis prayed, getting to his feet without even realizing it.

"Who is that chap?"

Fulmina spotted him and panicked, her eyes begging him to leave while he had the chance. Ignis had always been obedient to a fault, but his body didn't react to his thoughts anymore. He wanted to hide in her arms and for that he needed to be next to her and his fear wasn't enough to keep him away. His voice wouldn't answer either, so he just followed his heart, his feet walking over corpses and broken pieces of furniture.

"Ignis, stop!" his mother warned him.

"Oh. Your son. That's even better than I'd hoped."

Caligo pulled his sword back, keeping an eye on the lady as he gestured for Ignis to come closer. That made the boy hesitate, but Fulmina's shoulders were shaken by very light tremors. Like on those nights where she missed his father too much and couldn't calm down unless he was next to her.

What can I do to help? What can I do, mom? Negotiating wouldn't work. His few self-defense classes couldn't compensate a gun, or a sword in a grown man's hand and his head refused to work as he saw the blood on his mother's hands. It was up to her elbow, the dark silk of her dress dampened with it, splatters on her shoulders and throat. A drop under her right eye made it look was she was crying tears of blood.

"Stop, my little man, I'd rather have you safe than…"

His chest was heaving now and he hated himself for being weak, but his legs carried him still and he launched himself at her, a desperate shiver running inside his throat. Her arms wrapped around him, holding him safe, although nowhere might be safe again.

"Lady Fulmina," Caligo repeated. "I'm taking you and your son into the empire's custody. It is for your own protection, for this territory is now considered rampant with dysfunctional magiteck soldiers. They were stolen by your people and a miscalculation made them lose control."

As if on cue, the still living runaway presenters and guests started screaming as the metal dolls walked out of the shadows. Fulmina held Ignis closer to her breast, forcing his head down when he tried looking up, her fingers gently ruffling his hair. Her body jumped with every new scream and the boy wanted to hold back the tears stinging his eyes.

"We won't be going anywhere. This is a gross infraction to the treaty we had with…"

"The treaty has ceased last night when Lucian soldiers stole Nifelheim military weapons for their own gain. You can blame your line for receiving this consideration of the emperor himself, my lady, but be difficult and I'll be happy to take your scion alone. Being an orphan is still better to being dead. Or worse yet. A daemon."

Gasping protests, Fulmina held her boy even tighter.

"Mom?"

I should be thinking of a plan, but I can't…

"It will be okay, sweetie. I'll need you to be strong for me."

He didn't feel strong, not when she was kissing his forehead and holding him with her hands all sticky from the blood. Not when he knew a man was standing over them, talking about kidnapping as casually as if he was inviting them over for dinner.

"So, fair lady Scientia. Can I have you follow willingly? You can be our guests or our prisoners, it's up to you." Ulldor assured her. "And asking for your boy to be left behind is the best way to have him die in an unfortunate event. Look around you."

She did, met with desolation. There was no help in sight. Nothing but red eyes glinting at her, people taking their last breaths and robots pushing down cocktail's tables in a crashing of broken glass.

Mother, you don't know what they'll do. We might never see Insomnia again. What if they experiment on you?

There was a dozen tales on the empire. On its technology, so advanced it was close to blasphemy. On the fate of its citizens.

"We shall be your guests then," she whispered, resigning herself.

Years later, when asked, Ignis would say that he never was a guest of the empire. He became a prisoner that night. And his mother… Well, there was a reason why his mother was under constant watch from nurses in her home on the outskirts of Insomnia, as far away from the Citadel as she could be.

…

"Noct?"

The older boy looked up from the comic book in his lap. He was in his bed despite the late hour, for the third consecutive week, propped up against pillows, a machine beeping by his side monotonously. Regis had it installed when he'd tried sneaking out with Gladio's help, and Gladiolus had been temporarily relieved from his duties to the first-born prince.

"What do you want, Rave?"

Ravus could still walk and that very fact got on Noctis's nerves. His brother had visited him twice, only with their father, and his face had been covered with bruises from the accident. Today, the boy was alone, his hair cut slowly getting back to what it used to be. The bruises were gone, but his eyes retained some of the fear from that night.

"I… I thought… It's mom's birthday and we usually spend it together, so I thought…"

The four-year-old didn't usually stutter, but he'd never seen his brother hurt for quite that long.

"It's… I lost track of time. Dad is still on his trip, isn't he?"

Ravus nodded quickly and Noctis realized his eyes were red. Regis had left three days ago and he wouldn't be back before a full week. The first born had heard through the maids that Iris was staying home with a cold, which meant that Ravus had to spend every day on his own. Ignis was still missing and Noctis was starting to wonder if he'd get back his advisor. His friend.

"I don't know if we can go see her…" Noctis sighed.

They would usually visit her tombstone to pay their respect on her birthday. Since the anniversary of her death was Ravus's birthday, Regis had preferred to take away the gloom of the cemetery.

"You can't move, huh?" the small boy whispered, adding in a lower voice, more for himself, "that's my fault…"

"Blame your short legs," Noctis tried teasing him, quickly realizing this was a mistake.

Ravus broke into tears, his shoulders shaking as he stood there, looking small and pitiful.

"Hey… Don't…"

"I'm sorry, Noct," Ravus managed, lowering his eyes.

"What? We already said this wasn't…"

But Ravus was shaking his head and explained what he'd understood of the situation.

"Dad left because he can't t…talk to me, and you're hurt because I c… couldn't run fast enough and everyone's mad at me."

His little fists waved up and down as he tried to make his point. Noctis pushed his book back to the foot of the bed, wincing as he sat straighter. His legs were tingling and he needed them massaged soon, but for now, he wanted to make sure his brother would feel better.

"Come over here, Rave," he asked, tapping the mattress beside him.

"Really?"

"Well, it's not like I can jump down right now. And it's not your fault, you weren't holding that giant blade."

"Dad would have made a shield," Ravus observed, walking up to the bed, sniffling a bit.

"Forget dad, brother, today's mom's birthday. She wouldn't want you to be sad."

"She wouldn't want you to be sad."

Noctis huffed, crossing his arms and Ravus found the courage to climb on the bed. Noctis didn't wait, pulling his younger brother onto his lap as soon as he could get his hands on him.

"Isn't that dangerous for your legs?"

"You're super light, Rave. And we can't forego the tickle war."

Aulea and Regis had started that tradition with Noctis and the prince had insisted on keeping it even after his mother passing. It was one of the rare occasions that made him feel like they had a normal family and not the really tensed situation they were in with the crown and the crystal.

"Oh no, not this year," Ravus instantly protested, but Noctis had already reached for his sides and tickled a dozen laughs out of him before letting him catch his breath.

The younger prince tried poking him in the ribs, but he had yet to win a tickle war. Regis and Noctis loved ganging up on him, when the brothers didn't team up against their father, who'd always end up cheating in a fun way.

"That's better," Noctis observed, ruffling his hair in the way he knew annoyed Ravus the most.

"Hey!"

But there was a smile on the small boy's face now, because this was how they treated each other normally. The noggin turned into a light fight, Noctis halting it by hugging his brother when he felt they both had had enough.

They stayed in silence, lying next to one another, trying to push away the memory of the awful night where Noctis had been lying over Ravus, his blood slowly covering him.

"Noct?" the blond boy asked, holding his breath in fear his elder wouldn't answer.

On the night of the attack, Noctis had been silent to his calls and Ravus had been trapped there, soaking in the blood, not sure if his brother was gone or just…

"Yeah?"

Ravus sighed, hoping Noctis couldn't tell he was still scared.

"Do you… miss mom?"

"I sure do. Why?"

"I… I can't remember her. How was she?"

Regis never talked about Aulea, except to say Noctis had her eyes.

"I… I don't remember much."

"Can you tell me?" Ravus nearly begged.

How could he say no to that?

…

Ravus was staring at the screen of his phone with a mix of disbelief and pain. He had been the ghost of himself for the past few days. Gladio didn't talk to him after breaking his nose and left wrist, telling him their training would be off until he was healed. Iris evaded him like the plague, his father was too busy to see him, the servants were shifty from sheer nervousness at the idea he could blow up and Ignis… Well, Ignis wasn't much different from his usual. He did his job perfectly, getting problems solved, following Ravus through his lessons, bullying the teenage prince into eating his meals, berating him for not putting together suitable luggage for the upcoming trip and ending up pushing him out of bed every morning so he would follow his schedule. Ignis had also packed his things for him and imposed him a haircut.

"At least, you can try to look like a proper prince as you leave. With everything going on, your people need all the nice illusions they can get."

There was no anger in the advisor, no sign of malcontent. If anything, his voice was flat, his eyes showing no annoyance but no interest either. He'd never fully supported Ravus, nor Noctis either, but the prince would find out the truth about his aloofness soon.

The headlines on all the newspapers this morning were all over foreign news.

Lady Lunafreya's covenant with the Tide Mother leads to storm and casualties.

Almost every boat in the harbor at the very time of the covenant had been obliterated by the raging sea, although the casualties were mostly wounded, thanks to the fact the warrior princess had made her whole enterprise on a neighboring island instead of the Altar in Altissia. The next headline fully got Ravus's attention.

Banished Prince stands by the Oracle.

The Oracle sided with Noctis -formerly Lucis- Caelum, known for his cunning in battle and the charges against him for attempted fratricide. Can the Oracle be considered on our side anymore?

And there was another one.

The Oracle Gone Soft?

Witnesses say the Oracle has been seen spending a lot of her time beside her bodyguard, now known to be the former Lucian Prince Noctis, as he recovers from serious injuries. Some speculate if the Princess is losing her edge as she tries to settle down with a Prince. Is the Tenebraen leader no longer the warrior princess?

All Ravus could process was "serious injuries". And it seemed that Ignis had noticed that part too, for he was a few minutes late at breakfast that morning, putting a paper copy of the gentlest article regarding the accident in Altissia in Ravus's hands before even greeting him.

"Why do you want me to see this?"

"Because your brother nearly died," the taller man explained. "Lately, you've been needing happy thoughts."

"What?!"

"You once ordered me to chase him away or kill him," Ignis reminded him.

"I…!"

"Be advised that if we are to meet Noctis again, things won't go like you want them to. I am no puppet."

Gladio had threatened Ravus more directly, making it clear he would protect his sister before the blonde prince.

"After all, family should come first, don't you agree?"

Coming back to the present, Ravus wondered what Ardyn would say. The guy would have a solution to make the situation shift in his favor, he always had. Although Ravus hadn't seen him in a while. Because of this one ally, he'd lost everyone else. And if it didn't eat him alive, he was pretty certain his guilt alone would. With a heavy heart, he pushed his breakfast aside and prepared for the brief audience with his father before to leave in the Regalia.

His retinue was made of Ignis, Gladiolus and Iris. Regis had insisted on including the young girl to the lot despite Clarus's protests. Things had been quite tensed in the Amicitia's family, with Gladiolus being torn between his duty and his need to break more of Ravus's bones. No one had given the future King's Shield any trouble for his one and only assault on Ravus, the concerned prince acting quiet and far from commanding around him on the following days. It was hard to say if the teenager was scared of taking more of a beating, lost in confusion or weighted down by the sudden awakening of his conscience. He missed Iris's smiles terribly, but the girl couldn't manage a smile as she wore her version of the Crownsguard uniform, standing in the throne room next between Ignis and Gladiolus, Regis sitting in his throne as his second son walked up the stairs.

The King had superbly ignored the recent disputes between the prince and his closest bodyguards. Ravus didn't feel ready to see him right now, but he also didn't want to miss his last chance of seeing his father before he'd come back from his pilgrimage. He felt like an utter failure right now and was desperately clinging to the hope he could redeem himself by collecting enough royal arms to prove he was owed his place as crown prince.

"Today, my son, crystal chosen and wielder of our ancestors' magic, you set out on a journey that every rightful heir to the throne took before you," Regis started, his voice drawling on the words "chosen" and "rightful".

Ravus swallowed. The pressure on his shoulders was nearly suffocating.

"You will gather five royal arms and see the state of Lucis with your own eyes. My Glaives should keep any empire's advance at bay, but if there was to be an attack, I expect you to step in."

Looking up, Ravus wondered if that meant he was also expected to lead the troops. That was something only Noctis was ever trusted to do. The thought made him want to ask whether the King had seen the headlines referring to Noctis. But something cold exuded from his father. The space between them was packed with tension.

"You're impressively silent today, Ravus. Are you that eager to leave?"

The simple answer was that Ravus was eager to prove himself. And hoping he could somehow regain Iris's trust.

Why aren't you talking about Noctis? Why didn't you react after Iris went out to see you the other day? Why are you sending me off like this as though nothing happened?

"Maybe I am," he said instead, lacking his usual bite.

Regis considered him with a light smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Well, off you go now. Just make sure to come back. This old man can only lose so many sons…"

Iris planted her nails into her palms, hoping that would help her keep her voice down. This masquerade made her sick. Gladiolus exchanged a brief look with his father, who stood by the King's side, stoic and strong, like always. Ignis barely disguised his own surprised exclamation with a cough and the three of them couldn't wait to leave the room. They were all worried about Noctis after reading the news. As soon as the doors closed behind them, Ignis pulled out his phone and squinted his eyes, letting out a disappointed breath.

"Nothing yet, huh?" Gladio whispered to him.

Iris frowned at that, but Ignis was already shaking his head, while Ravus quickened his pace, trying to ignore the foreboding impression his retinue would keep him out of their discussions for most it not all of their trip. Both Amicitia's phones buzzed and they found texts from their father, wishing them a good trip and reminding them he wanted regular news if possible.

"The nerve of our old man," Gladiolus said through clenched teeth.

"He has a right to be worried. You've seen the news about the attacks on Altissia. As soon as the Nifs are tired of flying over water, they'll come over this way," Ignis warned.

Iris paled, but she had heard her father arguing with Gladio and seen how tense the Glaives were acting lately. When they sat down in the car, Ignis as the driver, Ravus reluctlantly sitting next him while the pair of siblings shared the backseat, the young girl couldn't help looking back at the citadel. She had no idea where the real Regis was or what words he would have told Ravus. All she knew was she needed to warn her friend, no matter how angry she still was at him.

…

Noctis couldn't complain about being bored. Luna spent most of her waking moments with him in the hospital, while Prompto and Cindy visited him often. The first time, seeing Prompto walking around with a few bandages pocking out from under his hospital gown and his freckles standing out on his face had made him feel bad for not worrying more about his friend. Now that the man had been discharged, the regular visits comforted him. They'd started calling each other "bro" without Noctis realizing it and the three friends made sure no newspaper reached the convalescent prince.

"Did you really not have a single female nurse watching over you?"

"Depends if you'd consider Cindy a nurse. She's been pretty awesome."

"Wow. You actually complimented a girl without referencing to any of her body parts!"

"Oh, come on, I'm not always… Just take a good hard look at yourself, Noct. You're so self-conscious and getting jealous of how sexy I look, you had to go and collect more scars. I hope you feel manly enough now."

"I swear Prompto, you'd better not believe this is your chance to get unpunished teasing done."

"You can slap the daylights out of me when you're back up, man. But knowing how you eat, that's not going to happen even with Luna fixing you up with her magic."

"Hey!"

It was silly and Noctis was glad for it, even though that last comment made him wonder about the meals Ignis would have prepared for him. He missed Lucian meals more than he would dare to admit it. And with the long rehab he needed to go through to regain some control in his right arm, he wondered how long it would take to even be in Lucis. Although it wasn't like he would be able to see either of his old friends when he went…

"You got that forlorn look again, buddy. You're not allowed to think about sad things in the hospital!"

Prompto jumped to his feet and the color instantly drained from his face as the nearly permanent dizziness hit him violently. Noctis was still lying on his side, he was only allowed to sit up for short amount of times and he was left to look helplessly as Prompto took two steps and dropped to the floor in a shivering heap of limbs.

"Hey! Do you need a nurse?"

"No, no, don't worry yourself, I'm just… so freaking dizzy. Got up too fast," the gunman explained with a frail chuckle.

He rubbed his shoulders in a meek attempt to warm himself and Noctis felt bad. His friend shouldn't be walking around the hospital like this.

"You should be more careful, Prom. Maybe have Luna look after you?"

"She tried, but I'd rather she keep her energy for you. Her magic makes my skin itch. And all that marshmallow taste in my mouth. Ugh… You've heard about diabetes, haven't you? Am I making no sense again?"

"Just a bit. Here." Noctis managed to aim his top bed sheet at Prompto's head.

"Ewww. This smells horrible…"

"Well it's warm, you tiny ice cube!"

"Warm with all the farts you managed in the past few days?"

This was a good summary of nearly every time Prompto visited Noctis in his hospital room.

There was one visitor that Noctis hadn't expected though, one who came out of nowhere. She walked with a small limp, wearing a black woolen dress and a large red scarf covering her hair. He'd only met her once before, and not for long, since time was always short around her.

Aranea Highwind knocked on the doorframe to announce herself before walking into the room. Luna had left to get herself food, having stayed for longer than she'd intended and Noctis was actually sitting this time, propped up against the headboard. He was trying to flex his fingers once again, holding his right wrist in his hand as he tried to handle the pain running all over his arm to the back of his shoulder.

"Should I call a nurse to tell her you're over-exerting yourself, blue blood?" the former dragoon fighter teased him.

"Aranea?! How the hell…?"

"I don't always push pen and paper," she declared.

Her eyes asserted the damage and Noctis could instantly tell why she was here. His voice was gone, and he stared right back at her, his mouth hanging open.

"Specks asked me to check on you, that's right. That face makes you look pretty stupid, so you'd better stop."

He tried to regain his countenance, but he couldn't believe it. The last time he'd seen the guy…

"Ignis is… worried about me?"

"What are you, five?!" Aranea shook her head. "You're like his only real friend. The whole, covenant thing and murderer prince serving as bodyguard to the Oracle is all over the papers too," she added, making quote marks in the air to accentuate the fact the word murderer was from the paper and not her.

Noctis's face darkened and his voice turned bitter.

"How many people did you kill to even land here?"

"Do you think I would tell you about it, never mind the digits going with a yes? I live with risks, I'm not suicidal."

A roll of the eyes was her only answer from him. Noctis knew Aranea had been the one thing keeping Ignis sane during his captivity and how the two children had basically saved each other. The Highwind family was of noble blood in Nifelheim, but Aranea's grandfather had fallen from grace and it had been a struggle to her parents and her to make a living in the empire. She was Ignis's bodyguard for a while, protecting him from the other children, helping him with his training and slowly taking his side, while also showing him that Nifelheim wasn't all about evil and greedy soldiers. She still became a soldier and the leader of her squad soon after he left for Lucis with his mother. Aranea had been wounded too badly to stay on the battlefield and found herself pulled back to the planning of battles, for she was one of the most efficient strategists Nifelheim possessed. Most battles she'd planned turned out with minimal casualties on both sides. And she had been playing a dangerous game during the last few years, sharing information with Ignis after the meeting Noctis had organized for them.

"Well, I'm alive and I should get out of this place in a few days. Should I expect a commando waiting for me by the door?"

"Or a back alley?" Aranea suggested. "You're not a Lucian general at the moment, so you should be fine. I'm trying to have us move out from here, but…"

She lifted her hands, dropping them to her hips with a sigh. Noctis remembered wondering how Ignis could like her, once upon a time, when he was still more of a child. At one time, all Niffs were enemies. Black was good, and home, while white was pretentious liars, expanding over the world like the scourge. Now everything around him was greying. His new best friend was an imperial clone.

"Did Ignis give you… any word from Lucis?"

"I told him I was no messenger, but he wanted you to know he's been digging up on your brother. And one man called Ardyn."

For the first time since he'd woken up in his hospital bed, Noctis was able to clench both of his fists, which resulted in a small gasp of pain. His arm felt so ridiculously numb.

"You're still going to Lucis, right?"

"As soon as I can get this limb to work," the prince said.

"I'm not worried about you. You're pretty resilient. Worse comes to worst, I can give you tips for office work," she teased, slapping her left thigh.

"Ha, recruiting even here? Having our Specs is not enough for you?"

She blushed and deflected to another subject. They didn't make small talk for long after that. Aranea never liked staying in one place for long and they had never gotten to the point they could call each other a friend. When she walked out the door, it was to be confronted with Luna, but the silver-haired woman tightened her scarf around her face, saluting her with a nod before walking off.

"Was that…?" Luna started, rushing into the room as to make sure her wounded lover was fine.

"Do you know her?" Noctis mused.

"You do?!"

"Not a lot, she's…"

"Why was she here? How do you know Aranea Highwind?!" Luna asked, nearly dropping the platter of food she'd been carrying on the retractable cupboard by his bed.

"Whoa! Not so loud! You do realize that she risked her life coming out here?"

"You do realize she might be the one choosing the targets the Niffs are firing on?!"

Noctis grimaced. It had always been a source of arguments between Gladiolus and Ignis, and he himself had had his doubts more than once.

"She didn't try anything funny, she was just checking on me. She's my advisor's… I mean my friend's… It's pretty complicated, can you stop pacing and sit down with me?"

Luna was wringing her hands together, clearly thinking back on the many battles against the empire and every of the ones she'd lost.

"I…"

"Luna, please. Seeing you this flustered makes me nervous."

She obliged him, her gestures tentative and overly careful. The bed was small, and she didn't want to put any weight on him, even if it was only leaning her head on his good shoulder. She sat on his left side and Noctis decided not to comment that he wouldn't break from being touched. He was diminished and trying to pretend otherwise would be foolish. He didn't want to address it yet either, because he needed more intimacy before he allowed himself to even process what he'd lost. His right arm was his sword arm. Fighting was how he'd always defined himself. The prodigy trainee. The general of his father's army. Luna's right hand man. Now he couldn't even hold her hand with his right hand.

"Come closer," he asked, voice gentle, his eyes softer than usual.

"Noct, I don't need a hug, I need answers."

She was worried someone would pass by and see just how closely she kept an eye on her bodyguard. She didn't want the newspapers to worry her, but she also didn't want people to lose faith in their Oracle. It wasn't about her, but more about keeping hope alive in people's heart.

"Well, I need a hug," Noctis countered. "All you do lately is ruffle my hair. I'm not a cat."

"Are you sure? You do love lazing around in bed."

"You're lucky I love you so damn much."

He wrapped his good arm around her, pulling her close, kissing the crown of her head and her brow. Luna couldn't help a gasp, her hands instinctively clutching to the front of his gown. The very feel of his arm around her back made her realized how much she missed his embraces.

"I love you too," she breathed out.

"Luna, are you cold? You're shivering so much…"

"No, I'm…" she hiccupped on a sob and Noctis finally understood. "I thought I was losing you…"

"I'm sorry. You scared me too, you know?"

She tried to dry her tears, but the fact he was holding her and she could feel his warmth cracked her last defenses.

"I'm sorry, Noct, I'm so sorry."

"Luna, please, if you start, I'll just fall apart," he warned, voice already shuddering.

"No, no, you're fine, you're safe, I'll keep you safe, Noct, there's no reason to…"

"But that's my job."

She shook her head, her hair brushing his chin before that she moved a step away from him, their eyes locking together.

"Not anymore. I know I made you my bodyguard, but that was before… I need you safe just as much as you do, Noct."

He tried to raise his right arm, but the pain overwhelmed his nerves and he gritted his teeth, pleading with her.

"Don't take fighting away from me, Luna. I'll get better before you know it, I'll use more magic to compensate using my left, I can still warp around and help you touch the clouds, I…"

Her hands cupped his face as the first tear rolled down his cheek.

"I know you can still fight, Noctis."

"And I can still protect you, I'll need time, but…"

"Stop, my love. It's okay."

She kissed him once, even if his lips made a tight line and he couldn't answer her gesture in kind.

"It doesn't feel that way. You don't need a cripple."

"What I need is you, Noct, just you."

He hated his insecurities. He wanted to push the doubts aside. If Luna didn't care enough to stick around a guy in his state, why would she be here all the time? Why did she even let the papers use their name together when she wanted them to stay incognito? Why didn't she enroll a new bodyguard? His throat felt too tight and his heart ached. He had been stuck in a hospital room before. Stuck wondering if he would ever walk again. What would his friends say once they knew? Could he even punch Ravus in the face anymore if he wanted to?

"Luna…" he rasped, desperately trying to fight against the rage, bitterness and apprehension overwhelming him.

"I love you, Noct. Can you believe me?"

He remembered how Prompto has insisted his hair was oily and he looked like a nightmare.

"I can. I just don't want to be a burden."

"How could you be. You helped me touch the clouds. Made sure I landed safely."

Luna lifted his right hand as gently as possible, kissing his knuckles before to turn his hand over, planting a kiss on his palm.

"Don't do that," he sighed.

"Why? You can still feel me, can't you?"

She guided his hand to her cheek, stroking his trembling fingers.

He did feel her. Through the burning sensation in his veins and the pinprick of pain, he sensed the softness of her skin. How a spot was drier than the others. His eyes took her in, his heart swelling in his chest. It might overflow if she kept this up.

"Luna, you…"

"Does it hurt?" she cut him off.

The trembling reached his head and she realized he was nodding. Her smile was half sad as she offered her help.

"I can fi…"

"Don't use your light. It's not your powers I need, Luna," he pulled her in, encouraging her to sit in his lap, slowly hiding his face in the crook of her neck. "It's you that I need."

They held on to each other, even after both had stopped trembling. If anyone saw them, nobody thought it wise to interrupt the pair.

To be continued…

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More hurt/comfort to come, but also more variety, since we will share our time between Ravus's retinue and Noctis's rehab. I aim to write some more Silver/Gold in next chapter. It might take a while before the next update since I need to write on Unexpected and I am moving this Saturday. More than ever, I want a time turner. Or maybe just to travel in time with Umbra.

As always, reviews make me happy.