When Luna is eighteen years old, the first thing she does the night of her birthday is to get smashingly drunk. She prepares well, though, locking the door of her room behind her, and making sure Noct is fast asleep so he won't do something he'll regret. But when Noct wakes up the next morning, he's feeling the effects of Luna's hangover, and he tells himself that just because Luna can now legally drink, he'll never consume alcohol again.
(He does, in fact, drink again.)
Noct's been trying harder, trying to do what he has to do, but it's difficult. Training still goes slow, and Noct knows he's progressing slower than average, but it's one thing to walk with two bodies and another to try and fight in one and do politics in another. As it turns out, Noct and Luna are just naturally lazy as well. It's not a great combination.
Puberty hits Noct… oddly. He has the dubious honor of going through it twice, and the second time just might be worse than the first. His height shoots up, and soon girls are looking at him a little differently than they had before.
And it's odd, because Luna had to suffer through monthly pains and ever-so-often mood swings, and Noct doesn't necessarily have those, but he's angrier now, and before when he would simply suffer through something in silence or felt like crying, now he wants to yell and scream.
Noct is scared by this, and Luna is scared by this, because it's something Noct has but Luna doesn't, and it makes them feel like their more different than ever.
When Noct starts high school that spring, and it's a surprisingly hassle-free affair. He gets new uniform, new textbooks, and in the morning Ignis drives him to a different location, and that's about it. So when he's walking to the gates of his new school, he's not expecting anything to change much, until someone taps him on the shoulder and a bright voice says, "Hey!"
And it's Prompto Argentum, the Prompto who saved Pryna years ago, only he's lost his glasses and his entire demeanor is entirely changed. He's definitely taller, and his hair is styled in a different manner. Without the blond color, Noct probably wouldn't have recognized Prompto at all. Now he's smiling impishly, his eyes friendly and bright, and he says to Noct, "Hey! I'm Prompto Argentum; it's nice to meet you."
Noct can't keep the surprise out of his face for a second. But then he snorts and shakes his head, because he really doesn't understand what Prompto is trying to do. "Haven't we met before?" He asks dryly.
Prompto turns red and scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh… well…"
But Noct will take whatever he gets, because Prompto didn't call him "Your Highness" or "Prince" and when he looks at Noct he doesn't want anything, so Noct claps him on the back and says, "C'mon, let's go check whether we're in the same class this year."
They are, as a matter a fact.
Ignis is now sixteen, and he's attending council meetings for Noct, filling him in on all the newest developments with the Empire. In truth, Luna has been paying close attention to interactions between Lucis and Niflheim as well, so much of what Ignis informs him of is helpful for a recap, but at the same time very useless.
Noct rarely sees his father these days, either. He's always been somewhat absent due to his duties as king, and Noct can only ever really see him during mealtimes, but now Noct never sees him at dinner and it's only ever so rarely that he joins him for breakfast. Noct has never been so consciously aware of the shimmering Wall surrounding Insomnia, and how his father's hair grows gray, and his face is more aged than it should be.
He doesn't want see it, any of it, and then one day he finds out that his father's been purposely delaying his responsibilities as king in order to spend just the smallest time with his son.
A small part of Noct is terribly grateful, because his father loves him and it's wonderful to know, but the larger, more rational part of his mind tells him that no, this can't happen. His dad has no time, no time to care for Noct. He's always tired, and Luna can only barely understand how strenuous it is to run a kingdom as well as maintain the Wall. He can't have time, and Noct is only going to make his hair grayer and his face more lined.
So he requests an audience with the king, and when it is granted, he asks to live outside the Citadel, on his own.
His father looks at him, and says, "Why?"
(And in another world, maybe Noct would be a bit more awkward, a bit more shy and bad at communicating, a bit less Luna, and he might lie and tell his father that he wants independence, he wants freedom, and he's tired of everyone in the Citadel pampering him and he might even end up implying that his father's too overbearing, too protective.)
Noct raises his head and tells him the truth.
"Because I'm worried about you," He says. "And I want you to know that you don't have to worry about me. Just focus on what matters, Dad."
His father is silent for a long while, and the guards shift nervously until he dismisses them.
"Noctis," He says, once they are gone. "You needn't worry about me."
"Yes, I do," Noct shoots back. "I can tell you're tired, ok? And I don't want you to overwork yourself. Just… I'm doing fine, aren't I? I know you try to take care of me, and I appreciate it, but you really don't need to. I don't want you to…"
He trails off, distressed, but the meaning is clear. I don't want you to die. Because his mother is already dead, cold and silent and below the surface of the earth.
His father lets out a small sigh. "Noctis. You tell me this, but you are just as important to me as Lucis is. How can I simply…" He trails off as well, looking at Noct sadly. Noct looks at him beseechingly.
"Just let me do this for you." He says, and adds quietly, "Please. It'd make me feel a lot better."
The last part seems to get to him, and his father looks thoughtful. Then suddenly, without any apparent reason, he abruptly switches the subject.
"My son, have I ever told you about the other me?"
The sentence in itself doesn't quite seem to mean anything, but Noct tenses, knowing what he's getting at. "I thought we weren't allowed to speak about it."
"Well, it's a rather moot point, since my other body has long since left this world." His father tells him, and his eyes are wistful. "I was a citizen of Accordo, before it fell to the Empire. Just an ordinary man, with a simple life."
"Huh." It's a bit interesting to hear about who his father was, and Noct stores this particular tidbit of information for later consideration.
"My point is, living a life in the city will be very different from what you are used to. I know another you is out there on Eos as well, but you are not from Lucis, are you?" His father says, referring to the time Luna let her accent slip.
Noct nods in agreement, and he continues. "Living in Insomnia will be a very different experience, and I will not feel entirely comfortable leaving you entirely on your own. Is it alright with you if you were to receive assistance? I will assign someone to keep tabs on you, and if they feel that you cannot live alone properly, then you will return to the Citadel."
It's more than Noct could have asked for, so he takes the deal.