Prompt: #45 Stare

Summary: It's all about perception.

A/N: This could really go anywhere, in any verse.

Pervigil is Latin for "ever watchful".

Pervigil

Noctis was not a man that said a lot of senseless things. All the things he said were always unfailingly sensible. He was not exactly a chatty sort of man either. Oh, he did speak and he spoke quite well. The things that were expressed from those fascinating lips were always the most aggravating, amusing, admiring things that one could hear. Sometimes he did not even need to bother with actual speech because his face told you everything that you needed to know. He had the most wicked sense of humor and quick was not a fast enough word to describe his wit. There had never been a more complex, concise and capable person that she had ever had in her acquaintance. Most amazing of all was that he was shy and a little self conscious.

It took her a long time to figure that out. From the moment they had met, it did not seem like he had any difficulty in getting his views across. Or that it was even possible someone has self assured as he was could be shy at all. Noctis was such a variety of complicated layers. At first, she had thought he really was as aloof as everyone had claimed that him to be. She had been genuinely appreciative that he had spared her a few moments of his time. Everyone knew he tended to keep to himself. Except that in the corner of her eyes, she had seen the expression on his face that belied the tone in which his words had been expressed during their conversation. He had tried to warn her in a manner in which seemed off handed but had been full of meaning. If it had been in her, she might have been a little put off by his brisk manner. Of course she did not have it in her. So she had been even more captivated by him than she had been just staring at him from across the room.

Noctis was just a completely engrossing figure. No matter if he were merely sitting off to the side silently or in the middle conversing with a group of other people. She found that she could not help but stare at him, even when she had been trying desperately not to. Her eyes were always glued to his form. Even if her head was not turned in his exact direction, she always kept him in her peripheral sight. She was always ever aware of his presence. Saying that she fancied him seemed a little too tame. If she were honest, she could tell herself, she was no different than the gaggle of floozies that constantly hovered near him whenever they were in a social setting. When he was with his three constant companions, it was even worse. The giggles and sly glances in the direction of that prestigious group were nauseating and it made her feel just a tad bit ridiculous that she was just as bad. Well, she did not giggle because she found to do so was appalling, but she stared as much as they did.

She can never claim that she had ever been a shy sort of girl. During their first meeting, she had been rather bold. Not only had she initiated conversation with a man that was not prone to appreciating an aggressive female, she had stepped within his personal space. It had been a very hard thing to keep the blush from her face when he had unconsciously stepped away from her, but she had persisted and he had been a little bit receptive. Not enough to inflate her ego but enough to prevent her from feeling completely rejected. She had smiled and she had been herself and she had not batted her eyelashes at him suggestively, but she had found herself feeling uncharacteristically bashful. It had been equally exciting to find out that he possessed the very same abilities that she had, among the other things that drew her to him. Maybe he had even more than her, but she could not find out until much later just how greatly he surpassed her in ability.

Now, things were so different and yet not. Different in the sense that there was so much between them now. There were too many shared experiences and too many moments of open, honest confessions together. True, there were moments where he still made her feel bashful and just as many moments where he would return to the carefully aloof man that she had met that very first night. He was a different person now, though. She was a different person too. They were not exactly as they had been. Which was not a surprise considering the things that they had seen and the things that they had done. What had not changed was that she still found herself staring at him from across a room. The fascination had not diminished. As damaged as she had become from her experiences, she still considered herself to be one of the floozies who still stared at him so unabashedly. Perhaps, that had been the biggest change of all. Unlike them, her fascination had turned into admiration and then it had turned into complete adoration and devotion. Yet, she still felt she was still on their level. That he so surpassed her as he had in everything else.

Stepping out from the party and into the halls of the foreboding castle, she stops in front of a full length mirror and stares at her reflection. When had she gotten so old? It had nothing to do with the number of years she had accumulated. It was not that she was actually old. She looked old, jaded and certainly not as carefree as she had been. Her eyes seemed to have faded from the countless horrific scenes that she had witnessed. She could see, most clearly, that the floozies had aged far better and always seemed younger still. Flawless make up and impeccably cut gowns could not hide the wary being that she had become. She felt so damaged.

"It is a tragedy that you do not see the breathless beauty that I see whenever I look at you," says a voice just out of the range of the mirror's reach.

The voice that belonged to the one thing that made her spirits brighten. Even now, she can feel that slight fluttering in her chest from the tenor of that voice. She keeps her eyes fixed on the mirror until he finally steps within the reflection, his face beside her own. His eyes are entirely focused on her in that intense way that only he can stare at her. She looks intently into his eyes to see the truth of his statement with a wavering doubt.

"There is nothing that you would change?" she asks quietly.

"Not a thing," he answers. He steps closer and she can feel the heat of his body behind her before his arms encircle her waist. His chin rests upon her shoulder lightly as he gazes at her. "Shall I tell you of my favorite?"

"Your favorite?" she asks with a small frown. She does not return his embrace because she feels awkward and unsure, even in the face of his assurance.

"Maybe I should go by rank," he suggests with a contemplative look on his face. His tone has a twinge of teasing but there is a sincerity that makes her heart skip a beat.

She cannot help but look skeptical though. Even though she knew that Noctis was not a man who flattered, she was aware of her imperfections and nothing he said would make her believe they were anything but.

A sad sigh behind her, brings her eyes back to his face and he looks so forlorn that she almost feels ashamed.

"It is an even greater tragedy that you would not even believe me when I say that I think you are amazing, just as you are," he says mournfully. His arms tighten around her a moment before his right hand rises and he places it above her heart.

She watches him blankly as he stares at where his hand rests.

"No truer heart have I ever found," he states, but he does not look up. "The constancy of this heart has been my strength in order to conquer the threat to our world." Then his eyes come up to look into hers. "To have such a heart encased in so lovely a form is a twofold blessing I cannot ever forget and am ever thankful for."

Her mind fails her in the face of that confession. She can only stare back at him with tear blurred eyes.

"How can you not see what whenever you smile my world stops because all I can do is stare at you in amazement?"

She breathes out a shaky smile, thinking he was teasing but the seriousness in his gaze makes her stop. Then he looks mournful again.

"What assurances can I make that you will believe, dear heart?"

"I do not know," she says honestly and that makes her sad too.

"Do you love me?"

The question startles her and she answers without a pause. "Of course I do."

"Is there room for doubt that you do not?"

"Not at all," she replies just as quickly.

"That is the same way I feel."

They stare at each other a moment as she lets that thought sink in.

"Whatever imperfections you think you see when you look at yourself so critically, I do not see them," he says. "There is nothing that I would change and for you to be perfect to me, would be that you never change at all." He taps lightly against her heart. "Let this never change and you shall ever be perfection in my eyes."

"My heart belongs to you," she says easily because that has always been a given to her. "That shall never change."

To her, this is a well established fact that did not require anymore thought. So it surprises her when he lets out a relieved sigh.

"I shall be faithful," he promises. "To be ever watchful of it."

She smiles as she finally reaches up and returns his embrace. He returns her smile and squeezes her in his arms. In her heart, she feels settled now but she can see that now he is unsettled.

"Bright Star, my night sky is nothing without your brightness." His eyes look unsure. Not unsure of the words he had just uttered but unsure if she reciprocates those feelings. It reminds her that as self assured as he always looks, he still needed her to reassure him too.

"Heavenly Night, this star has no reason to exist without your sky," she replies.

They stare at each other through their reflections. Her eyes feel brighter as she looks into his because she has given back to him as he has given to her. She does not think she will ever tire of looking at him. All she needs to do is stop and stare at him and it seemed to make her feel like everything was going to be all right.

End Notes: This prompt was inspired by "Just The Way You Are" by Bruno Mars.