When Luna is sixteen years old, too many things happen. She ascends as the youngest Oracle in history. She also meets the first love of her life.

It's a girl around her age, newly hired, and Luna sees her walking down the hallways dusting furniture in the afternoon ever so often, and she's suddenly struck by the girl's crimson hair and how it flares in the sun, and how her freckles are especially pronounced on the left side of her face. And there's one time that the girl turns around, and they make eye contact, and the girl turns away quickly as if she's embarrassed.

Luna watches the girl out of the corner of her eye for months.

Then one day, she is gone, and Luna hears the maids gossiping about how the girl is moving to Gralea, and to her surprise she feels a sharp disappointment that the girl is gone, and that Luna will probably never see her again. It is only months later that Luna realizes what the girl with red hair and freckles meant to her, and she spends the next few days absolutely mortified by the implications — what if people noticed, what if the girl knew, but at the same time she's happy, terribly happy that she liked someone, and maybe one day someone will like her back.

The day she becomes Oracle is sunny and bright and Luna is a nervous wreck. The maids fuss over her clothing and her appearance and try to ease her fears.

"You'll be fine, Lady Lunafreya, nothing will go wrong."

"But what if —" Luna tries to say, but she is quickly cut off.

"No buts, Lady Lunafreya."

And to her immense surprise, the maids are right, nothing goes wrong that day. But being Oracle is difficult, and Luna is often called to different areas of Tenebrae to cleanse the ever rising numbers daemons. She and Gentiana spend more time together than not, and Umbra and Pryna are constant companions at her side.

She sees Ravus less and less now, and he only becomes colder and more distant. Ever since the invasion, Luna looks at him and she doesn't see the same brother she once knew. He's always angry, angry at Lucis, angry at King Regis, angry at Noct.

"Brother," She sometimes says. "Ravus, please, it was not their fault."

"He could have helped," Ravus always snarls back. "King Regis could have helped mother. But he didn't."

And there are so many things Luna wants to tell him, that King Regis has a duty to his own people, the way you do to Tenebrae Ravus, and sometimes doing your duty is the right thing to do, no matter how much it hurts, and by hating Noct you're hating me as well, but she knows he won't listen and there are some things she simply cannot say, so she keeps her mouth shut and lets the rift between them grow.

There's a point in time where Luna's sent Pryna to Noct so that he can send her some trinkets from the Crown City. Pryna never reaches him, and he's terrified, but he can't even go out to search for her because people would question how he knew she was missing, so Noct spends his days in restlessness while Luna asks Gentiana worriedly whether she knows anything, to which she always shakes her head.

Then one day, Umbra sits up and runs out to the garden, and to her delight, Pryna is back. There is a monogrammed handkerchief that she suspects was used as a makeshift bandage for a wound tied to her hind leg, and it reads Prompto, a name that rings a distant bell in her mind.

With the help of Gentiana— whom she suspects actually went to Lucis to track him down— she finds out Prompto is the quiet, bespectacled boy in Noct's class. She doesn't know much of him, but every time Noct sees him, he's always alone and taking pictures of animals.

So she writes him a letter as best she can, thanking him for his care of Pryna, and as almost an afterthought, she adds I hope you continue to be good friends with Noctis, because it seems a nice way to end her letter. But she wants to thank him with more than just a piece of paper, she gifts him the newest version of a popular camera model, and hopes that it will be enough to express her gratitude.

Noct sees Prompto around a few weeks later, and he's trying to get Noct's attention, waving his new camera around when he trips on some gym equipment. He helps Prompto up, but the bell rings and their meeting is cut short. But Noct is interested, curious even, of the boy who cared for Pryna so kindly, so he looks for Prompto after school ends, but the boy is nowhere to be seen.

School solicits mixed feelings from Noct. On one hand, he prefers it to the private tutoring that Luna received, because it makes him feel more connected, and more like everyone else. At the same time, he has no friends. In part, that's from everyone calling him prince and it's strange really, why would anyone call him that if they wanted to be friends? People respect royalty, and Noct doesn't want just respect, he wants friendship.

But another large part of it is because Noct isolates himself. He isn't quite sure why he does, but Luna is always tired of talking to people, and sometimes he just wants more time alone, which is strange really, since that's all he gets these days (apart from Ignis, he always likes spending time with Ignis).

But Noct wants to know Prompto, because Prompto saved Pryna for him and Noct wants to know what kind of person he is, if he likes cats as much as he likes dogs, if he knows how to do math well because if not Noct can probably help him. But every time he looks, Prompto runs. It's the strangest thing, because Prompto was the one who reached out to Noct first, but now he actively avoids him.

But there's nothing Noct can do about it, so one day when he's about to get into the car, he looks around one last time to see if Prompto is there and Ignis asks him what's the matter, he swallows his disappointment and says it's nothing, nothing at all.

Noct is twelve now, and he's starting to learn how to fight. He's not very good at it, and a large part of it is because he isn't trying. Noct knows he has to learn how to fight and defend himself, and one day he has to master the king's magic. He just…

In the past few years, Luna and Noct have developed a coping mechanism for stress — the more Luna works, the less Noct does. When Luna stresses, Noct relieves it. When Luna is tired and she can't show it, Noct does it for her. He's always terribly moody and sullen, sleepy, and generally insufferable. It's a terrible way to do things, but it's the only solution he's come up with, and Noct knows that he's not going to be able to do this forever, the same way he knows he has to learn to fight and learn to be king, but it's so easy like this, to be an outlet for Luna because she's always so tired, and it's only going to be worse if Noct starts as well.

So he knows what he has to do, he just doesn't do it.

They have the Amicitia son come in to teach him, and it's perfect because Gladiolus is going to be his Shield when Noct is king, the way Clarus Amicitia is to his dad, so it's best if they meet now and develop a strong, working relationship.

And from the first time they meet, Noct knows that he and Gladiolus are not going to get along, because Gladiolus expects everything from him, and Noct isn't going to live up to expectations. Every time he trains with him, Noct stumbles and falls, and Gladiolus says, "Get up," and makes him try again. Noct does so half-heartedly, and he feels the mounting disapproval radiating from his new bodyguard, even if he doesn't say anything.

When Gladiolus knocks him down once again, Noct lets himself lay on the floor for just a few extra moments so he won't have to look at the frustrated expression on his trainer's face. It's a terrible feeling, really, to know that someone is disappointed in you and that you could have tried harder, Noct thinks. But when he finally struggles onto his feet, instead of saying, "I will try harder" or "I won't let you down again," he looks at Gladiolus and says in his best monotone, "Training's over. I'm tired." And he allows himself to slowly walk toward the exit because it's the easy way out.

So yes, Noct knows that he and Gladiolus are not going to best of friends, and he feels the slightest remorse that he will never be another Ignis, unswervingly loyal, dependable, and always a good friend, but it's his punishment for being the way he is, so he'll take it.

Of course, all predictions are blown away the day Noct is told that a young girl who is waiting in the reception wishes to have an audience with him. A servant is walking him to the area when he sees her, the young girl, because she can't be more than 10, there's no way she's working here, scampering through the gardens, and Noct suddenly remembers that he's left the way to outside the Citadel open for the cats to come and go as they please, and he runs off the path and towards the flora.

"Prince Noctis, where are you going?" The maid calls in alarm.

"Off for a walk," Noct says distractedly, and runs off in the girl's direction. There's only a small chance that the girl would actually be able to find the exit, but he knows how intelligent children can be when they put their minds to something.

And sure enough, he runs after her shadow through familiar, winding passages, and all of a sudden he's outside the Citadel gates and the girl is nowhere to be seen.

"Where did she go…" Noct mutters under his breath. It's getting darker by the second, and clouds are starting to gather. It's unlikely that they'll be attacked by anything dangerous since they're still in city limits, but the girl must be terrified.

When he finally finds her, it's because she's sobbing and the sun has already set and the rain already starting to fall. "Hey!" He shouts, and runs to her. "Are you alright?"

"Noctis!" She screams, and to his immense surprise, runs to him and clings to him tightly. Most people don't act quite so familiar when they first meet him, but then again, most people aren't young girls lost in woods at night.

"Hey, it's ok," He says, awkwardly trying to comfort her. "I come out here to play by myself all the time, so I know the way back. Let's go to the Citadel now, alright?"

She sniffles and nods miserably. "My brother's gonna kill me," She whispers, and fresh round of tears spring up.

"Brother?"

"Gladdy," Iris Amicitia tells him, and Noct's stomach does an odd flip.

On the way back, she tells him that she was following a cat, and that she came here to Noct because Gladdy told her about him.

"Gladdy talks a lot about you," Iris says, her good mood returning now that she's safe and returning home. "He says that you're—" And she stops and bites her lip, which is rather uncharacteristic of her, given from what Noct's seen.

Noct sighs. "It's ok," He tells her. "You don't have to finish what you're saying. I know what your brother thinks of me. It's my fault anyways, I know I don't act my best around him."

"But…" Iris says back. "But Noct, Gladdy has to be wrong! I think you're great! You saved me!" She looks adorably determined to tell him this, and Noct smiles a little at her face. "Gladdy's stupid anyway, so he has to be wrong about this!"

When they finally get back, they're suddenly accosted by servants who cluck over him and Iris and hand them towels and fret. It's warm inside, and for a second he and Iris look at each other and think that everything might be alright after all, but then Gladiolus is running in through the front doors, wet and his expression furious, and that thought quickly dissipates.

He grabs Iris by the shoulders. "Do you have any idea how much you worried me?" He demands, and Iris can only nod and say, "I'm sorry, Gladdy," and then all of a sudden Noct's dad is coming over and he's asking, "What is the problem, Gladiolus?" And Noct looks at his bodyguard's enraged face, Iris' terrified one, and his dad is here now to only make matters worse. The guilt is threatening to make him collapse, because he was the one who left the way out open. Iris shouldn't be punished any further because he looks at her face and knows that she was terrified enough that she won't do such a thing again, but Noct is sixteen and no longer a child no matter how hard he tries to pretend he is. He is sixteen and older than Gladiolus and he should've known to close the exit, because he knows that it is a matter of safety for everyone in the Citadel, not just himself, and it was incredibly irresponsible of him not to inform anyone of the breach.

So he takes a small breath, and just as Gladiolus is about to tell his dad that it's nothing, just his sister causing some trouble, Noct says, "It's not her fault."

Gladiolus' gaze immediately snaps to him. Noct pays close attention to the floor. "I asked Iris to come play with me outside," He continues numbly. "She didn't do anything wrong."

Iris is watching him, shaken, and Gladiolus is a mountain of tension and fury, "You…" He growls at Noct.

Noct's dad holds his hand up. "Gladiolus, please," He says, and then turns to Noct. "Noctis," The king utters, his tone disappointed and disapproving, and Noct wants to sink into the ground and never rise back up. "Noctis, do you have any idea of the danger you put this young girl in?"

Noct doesn't say anything, and he can't move his eyes off the floor.

"It was highly irresponsible and careless of you," His dad continues. "I expected better." And turns away from him to stride away, as if he can't bear to look at the disappointment of a son he has. "You're grounded. Now go to your room and clean yourself up."

And so he leaves, with the glare of Gladiolus burning into his back, so intense that he thinks there will be a pair of eye-shaped holes through him. Noct forces himself not to think about it, about Iris or Gladiolus or his dad, and puts one step forward at a time until he reaches his room.

That night, he lies awake in his bed after all the lights have been turned off and he stares blankly at the ceiling. Luna turns to her side and looks at her nightstand.

This isn't going to work, Noct thinks.

No, it really isn't, Luna thinks.

But there's nothing to do but this, so Noct closes his eyes and drifts into an uneasy sleep.

The next day, Gladiolus deliberately interrupts Noct when he's writing his supplementary essay his father's assigned, and Noct looks up warily. Is he here to beat him up for endangering his sister? But Gladiolus simply asks Noct to have a training session with him, and says, "You're not the only one being punished here."

Noct doesn't understand, but Gladiolus doesn't look angry or tense, and it's as if the enraged Amicitia from last night was never there, and the way he looks at Noct is a bit different, like he can't seem to figure him out. So Noct doesn't understand, but he agrees nonetheless.

Training goes the same as usual, but then halfway through Gladiolus says, "We need to talk."

Noct looks up at him from the ground. "About what?"

"Don't act coy," He retorts. "Iris told me what actually happened last night."

A part of Noct wonders what it is with Amicitia blood that makes the siblings act so familiar with him, but he pushes the thought aside and he lies, "I told you what happened."

Gladiolus rolls his eyes and sets down his training sword, sitting down next to Noct. "Yeah. Right."

"What do you want?" Noct asks shortly, because if Gladiolus knows, then can he kindly get to his point already?

"Look, Prince Noctis," And he looks utterly serious when he says it, and Noct can't help but notice for the millionth time that Gladiolus' eyes are always intense, and he's always feeling something. "Thanks for saving Iris."

Noct shrugs.

"You're not a bad kid, but I'm not going to go easy on you," Gladiolus continues. He grins fiercely at Noct. "Look, ok? I'm an Amicitia, which means one day I'm gonna be your Shield. And in order to protect you, I'm going to need you to know how to protect yourself. So you have to take our sessions more seriously than you are."

"You think I don't know that?" Noct retorts bitterly. "I just can't, ok?"

"That's got to be the lamest thing I've ever heard. There's nothing stopping you but yourself," Gladiolus points out, and Noct and Luna don't know this yet, but that's the the line that keeps them going for the next few years.

"And that's the corniest thing I've ever heard," Noct says back, even though it's true, he really is the only one holding himself back.

I need to be better, Luna thinks to herself. There are too many people that depend on me.

I need to be better, Noct thinks to himself. Because I'm free now, but one day I won't be.

Noct's been trying to think of a better solution, but maybe there's no solution, exactly. He just… has to try harder, has to be better than what he is right now.

So he gets up, and this time, instead of saying I'm tired, let's stop, he says, "I won't let you down," and Gladio's grin widens and he gets up too, and Noct also doesn't know this now, but it's also the start of something else.

So I just reloaded the same chapter; ignore me if u already read this one. I'm just trying to figure out how this site works. I haven't been here for a very long time.