Title: Roman Holiday

A/N: For the Threads of Destiny zine! I used the ship piece to actually write the ship instead of hinting at it in the most gen way possible like I did with the last chapter XD Roman Holiday works so well with these two, though I'd like a happier ending for them.

Summary: Lunafreya was a princess. Nyx was a bartender. It was something that was hard to remember as she sat in his bar, her eyes sparking with mischief and perhaps something more.

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Crowe was a good many things, but patient was not one of them. The moment Nyx stepped into his bar, he expected her questions, each as blunt as a blow to the head. To her credit, she waited until she finished putting up the last chair upside down on the table. Then, with all of her closing duties done, she made a beeline to him, taking off her apron as she did.

"So? How was it?" she asked with a quizzical look, her eyes dark and eager.

Nyx shrugged out of his coat, setting it on the bar as he stepped behind it. "Normal."

Crowe snorted. Disbelief dripped in her voice as she mocked, "Normal. You went to the Oracle's—the princess's—home, after she invited you, after you two flirted, and it was just normal?" She reached for an empty glass, her black nails tapping against the rim. "Let me have what you're having, it's clearly some hell of a drug."

"That's not what I…" Nyx frowned as he fumbled with his words, not sure how to say what happened. "I—"

"Nyx!" Libertus poked his head through the kitchen's serving window. "You're back! Wait, don't tell her without me."

Nyx groaned. "It's not—"

The kitchen darkened as Libertus flicked off the lights, clearly done with his own clean up before closing. Coat in arm, he hurried across the floor to join them at the bar. "So? How was it?"

"Normal," Crowe repeated incredulously. "He thinks it was normal."

"What?" Libertus peered at him, concerned. "You sick or something?"

"I'm not…" Nyx sighed. It was three am. His coworkers were far too chipper considering the time. Running a hand through his hair, he tried again, "Look, it wasn't a date. Or anything like that, if that's what you were expecting."

"What, so she really just invited you over to pay you the ten bucks she owed us?" Crowe crossed her arms and raised her brow. "Seriously?"

He understood the feeling. Nyx couldn't say what he had really expected, going to Galahd's ambassador quarter. Or what he had hoped for as he had stood in front of her richly ornate, gold-plated door, or when he had sat on a plush cushion in a room that he probably couldn't even buy one item from in his lifetime.

When Lunafreya had walked into his bar the other day, Nyx had forgotten that she wasn't just an ordinary, sheltered girl, one who couldn't sit on a bar stool or didn't know what Sex on The Beach meant. Hell, if it weren't for Crowe, he wouldn't have recognized the Oracle. The conversation then had flowed easily. Her eyes had sparkled with an unknown promise. And when she had left in a hurry, asking him to stop by for her tab, he half-went to see her again.

The woman inside the ambassador's place had been nothing like the girl from the bar. She had sat across from him with poise, looking every bit like the princess she was. Her words had been soft but to the point, the entire meeting a perfunctory matter.

He had been disappointed. Nyx didn't know what to make of that.

"Yeah." Nyx shrugged. "It really was just that."

"Oh." Libertus squeezed his shoulder with a knowing look. "It was fun while it lasted."

"While it lasted?" Crowe scoffed derisively. "It was a single drink."

"Better than nothing." Libertus wrapped an arm around Crowe, gently steering her toward the door. "Anyways, don't take too long closing."

Nyx cracked a smile. For all of his bluster. Libertus could be surprisingly sensitive when he needed to. "I won't."

He watched as the pair walked through the door before turning back to the bottles lining the shelves behind him. Slowly, he moved them around, keeping the ones that he often mixed together close. Honestly, he didn't know why he had come back to the bar after that. Crowe and Libertus had given him the night off, for the date that never happened.

If he were honest, he shouldn't have expected anything in the first place. Crowe had made it feel bigger than it was.

The door chimed and he looked up. "What, forgot your wallet?"

It wasn't Crowe who stepped in. It wasn't Libertus or even his sister. No, instead it was Lady Lunafreya, dressed in a soft silver dress that looked like Cinderella before the clock struck midnight. She didn't look entirely like she had when she'd first stepped through the doors the other day, nor did she look as formal as she had this morning.

Nyx set down the glass he was cleaning. "We're closed."

The words came out gruffier than he'd intended. If she noticed, she didn't let on. She stood at the door, one hand on the handle, the other pressed against her side. "I'm not here for a drink."

When she didn't add anything else, Nyx raised a brow. "Then what are you here for?"

"To converse." Her eyes were bright, glimmering in the light. "Is that too much to ask?"

She made it sound like he had been rebuking her from the start and Nyx clenched his jaw. Still, if he turned her away, he'd wonder about it. Sighing, he shook his head. "You can stay until I'm done cleaning."

"Thank you." Lunafreya stepped further in, looking more at odds with his cheap, third-rate bar. "I was afraid you would say no and I would have to come back another day."

"You don't know the meaning of the word no, huh?" Nyx picked up the glass again and returned to cleaning it. "You came all this way just to talk?"

"Well, we did not get a chance earlier. That was not what I had in mind when I invited you." Lunafreya came closer and smiled apologetically. "I had hoped to actually speak with you longer, but unfortunately my schedule only allowed for that brief meeting."

"And what did you want to talk about?" Nyx rubbed the rim of a glass, his eyes on her.

"Are you always this blunt?" she asked.

"Are you always this forward?" he countered. It was more aggressive than he wanted to be. Despite what he told Crowe earlier, it had smarted when he'd gone to her place, when she had given him the same smile she had given a dozen diplomats.

It was silly, though. They had only had one conversation. Only one drink. It was ridiculous to hold a petty grudge over nothing.

Lunafreya laughed, not put off by it. "No one is ever this honest with me." She pushed back a lock of her hair, her other hand pulling up the hem of her skirt slightly as she slid into a formal courtesy. "Once more, thank you for entertaining me the other night. I am sorry for cutting it short and not paying, and for putting you out by forcing you to come collect like that."

"It's…" Nyx swallowed uncomfortably. Now he felt like a jerk. Awkwardly, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, you don't need to do all that, it was just one drink. I'm a bartender. It's what I do."

"Yet, you are not denying that I caused you trouble." Luna gave him a knowing look.

Perhaps he should have expected that. She was a politician in a sense, used to weaving her words and reading others in conversation. And if he couldn't beat her in her arena, he might as well invite her to his. Setting down the dishrag, he asked, "Then how about a proper drink this time?"

She looked surprised. "I was not trying to—"

"I know. But you didn't even finish your drink last time." Nyx shrugged. "Think of it as a bartender's pride."

Lunafreya pursed her lips, stepping forward hesitantly. "I am afraid I did not bring any money."

"That's fine. It's on the house." Nyx stepped around the bar and pulled a stool off the counter. "I charged you for a full drink anyways, so you're getting your money's worth." As he set down the stool, he glanced at her and remembered the difficulties she had getting on it before. "Wait, I'll get a chair—"

"It is fine." Lunafreya brushed him aside as she gracefully slipped onto the stool. At his questioning look, she mischievously added, "I practiced."

Nyx laughed. It was a funny image, even more so because she was a princess. What sort of stools did royalty own? "If you say so." He pushed open the flap into the bar. "What should I make you? Another Sylleblossom Storm?"

She shook her head. Her hands crossed neatly on her lap, clasping her skirt. "Something stronger this time. I might not look it, but I can hold my liquor."

Nyx raised a brow. She looked smaller than his sister, and Selena was a lightweight even for an islander. "You can?"

The mischievous look was back and Lunafreya leaned forward. "How many official dinners do you think I attend?"

"That…is a good point." Now that he thought about it, whenever she was in the news, she was always staying at some rich folk's place. The alcohol there would be stronger, purer than anything he had in stock. "Then maybe a Coeurl Thunder."

She straightened, looking satisfied. "Sounds dangerous."

"We'll have to see." He pulled out a glass. "So, what brings a princess out to the boonies?"

Lunafreya frowned, looking mildly offended. "I would not call Galahd the boonies."

Nyx smirked, pulling a trick from her playbook. "But you'd think it?"

Judging by her deepening frown, she didn't like it. "I would not think it either."

It was funny. She sounded oddly sincere. Nyx shrugged as he poured a strong bourbon in her glass, the dark brown liquid running over the ice. "Well, if you did, we wouldn't be offended. It's the truth after all. I thought oracles visited major towns."

Reluctantly, she nodded. "That is what they—what I did in the past. However, I am old enough to plan my own tours now and I wanted to reach as many people as possible. The rich and the poor. The major towns and the…'boonies'." Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her skirt tightly. "I want to help as many as I can, no matter where they are, no matter who they are."

He couldn't imagine having that drive. It was all he could do to run this bar. Nyx set the glass in front of her. "That's admirable."

"It is nothing, really." She dismissed it offhand and slowly looked around the empty bar. "You own this place, right? I think that is far more admirable."

Nyx snorted. "Really? Running this filthy place compared to your healing?"

Lunafreya flushed. "That's not what I…" She picked up her drink, rubbing her thumb over the glass thoughtfully as she picked her words. "It is more that you made something with your own hands. You wanted something and then you accomplished it."

"I didn't really plan for it to be a dump like this, but," Nyx scanned the bar and all of its familiar issues, "I guess that's true." He looked at Lunafreya. "But your work, you're still doing things with your hands."

"In a sense." It sounded less like an agreement and more like a polite end of the discussion. She delicately sipped her drink and her eyes widened. "I didn't think the thunder was quite so literal."

Nyx let her change the subject. "It's in the ice. Consider it our special. Like it?"

"Very much so." She took another sip and closed her eyes as she smiled appreciatively. "It's a much stronger, richer flavour than the other one you made."

"We need to get one of those Royalty approved stickers." Nyx grinned as he fished around for a pen. Pulling out a napkin, he slid it toward her. "Crowe's going to kill me if I don't get an autograph."

"Crowe?" Her finger brushed his as she took the pen.

"Our waitress. You might have seen her when you came last time." He watched as she wrote her name in large, elegant loops. It was far neater than the messy cursive he scrawled.

She pursed her lips, frowning as she tried to remember. Shaking her head, she sighed. "I am afraid I do not remember. Though, perhaps I can come during the day to meet her?"

Nyx stared at her owlishly, surprised. It had been strange enough to have her come to his bar once or even twice but three times? "Princess, I know Galahd's got nothing to do, but it's not so boring you have to come here a third time."

Lunafreya gave him a look as she swirled her drink. "That is not why I came here. More importantly, I am certain Galahd has plenty of interesting sights."

"Have you seen any?" he asked, amused.

She looked sheepish. "Well, I have not had the time."

"Even if you did, you wouldn't find any." Nyx shrugged. "It's an honest truth, not an insult."

"It is not the truth," Lunafreya replied firmly. "At the very least, there is this bar."

He couldn't tell if she was joking. "Princess, I know this is a novelty to you, but dumps like this are a dime a dozen."

"Yet those bars do not have your company," she countered. Her ears turned red and she quickly finished her drink.

Was she flirting?

Was he?

Nyx wasn't sure. He wasn't even sure of what answer he wanted. She was a princess, after all, and he didn't have to watch one of Libertus's sappy romance movies to know what that meant. In lieu of saying anything, he took her empty glass and refilled it.

As he slid the glass back to her, she broke the silence. "I hear the coast here is nice."

It was a distraction he needed. "Yeah, I won't deny that. The port's real busy during the day, but if you go at dawn or dusk, it's quiet." Nyx softened slightly at the thought. He'd lived here his entire life and he still liked to stop and stare on his way to and from the bar. One of the good things about a night job. "The light hits it just right."

Lunafreya nodded. "Anywhere else?"

Nyx watched as she drank. Where would he take a stranger in Galahd? "The sea's a bit of a ship graveyard. On nice days, you can see the ruins." When she gestured for him to continue, he added, "The mountain's a bit ugly, but the top has a nice enough view."

"So you do have several points of interest." Lunafreya smirked.

He rolled his eyes. "Nothing a princess is used to."

She shook her head. "I have travelled more than you would expect. Simple things are far better than you'd expect."

Unable to resist the opening, he teased, "But you didn't know what a bar is like."

It was strange. There was something easy about talking to her here, something entirely unlike when they'd sat in her elegant waiting room. There, she had felt like a princess and entirely out of reach. Here, she felt real. Tangible. Like he could touch her.

"Now I do," she countered before looking down at her drink. "That is a fair point. To be perfectly honest, for all of my travels, I do not know much about the places I've seen."

"That sounds miserable." Nyx frowned. He couldn't imagine it. "What's the point of travelling?"

"Well, it is not a vacation. It is work." She took another sip and his eyes followed the delicate curve of her neck, the soft turn of her wrist. "I am happy for all of the people I can see, but…there is not much point to it."

He raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, she didn't hold back this time. "The oracle's powers are not what they used to be. It's been centuries since the Starscourge died out. Yet, our duties still continue. It's an archaic practice that is no longer needed."

Archaic practice. Nyx blinked. He hadn't expected her to speak so candidly.

"Noctis—Insomnia's prince—still has to gain the acceptance of his ancestors before he can perform his duties. I have to travel and cure minor ailments." She curled her hand into a fist, her jaw tightening. "I do not mind the work, but the people are not looking for a simple magic trick. They want something more and I—"

Noticing his stare, Lunafreya covered her mouth. Flustered, she turned red and shook her head. "I said too much."

"Not at all." Nyx rubbed his neck, not sure what to say. "I've heard worse."

"No, I…" Lunafreya looked at the empty glass ruefully. "Perhaps I had too much to drink. I should get going." She slipped off her seat. "Thank you for the drink. I do apologize for my last visit."

Nyx glanced at her now-empty glass, then at her. He shrugged awkwardly. "It's nothing."

"Then, farewell." She curtsied once more before turning.

Before she reached the door, he added, "There is a point."

She paused, her hand on the door. Looking over her shoulder, she raised a brow. "A point?"

Now that she was looking at him, Nyx fumbled with his words. He should have thought about what he'd say instead of just blurting the first thing he thought of. "For your travels."

"How so?"

Nyx tapped his leg, scrambling to put together his thoughts. "Those people you visit—they're believers, right? Everyone needs something to put their hope in. Might as well be you, instead of some distant god." He smiled lopsidedly. "At least you can do something."

Lunafreya's lips parted, looking a mix between scandalized and pleased. After a moment, she giggled. "That's quite blasphemous. Yet…thank you."

She smiled before turning away, her blonde hair the last thing to disappear as she left. The door didn't even close before he hoped she'd wander back in again.