Title: Winter coat
Genre: Romance, humor
Summary: Noctis should've paid more attention to the rapidly decreasing temperature.
Chapter 6: Winter coat
Noctis buried his hands deep in his jacket's pockets and restlessly tapped his foot. Luna was late and he was freezing. Of all the times now was when she decided to follow his suggestion of not being so strictly punctual all the time. He had zipped his jacket fully, but the thin cloth did little to keep him warm. He cursed under his breath as another cold breeze blew by him. Who was it that claimed the city was always warm and sunny as Altissia during summer? Probably Prompto. Once he got back to the hotel he'd make sure to throw Prompto to the streets in his undergarments for an hour and see just how much fine tuning his memory required.
He pulled his high collar to cover his lower face, but the vicious wind had already done its work. His ears were stinging from the cold and he could hardly feel his hands. His toes weren't faring much better, but at least he had somewhat decent shoes. He wished for the fifth time that he'd put more clothes on or at least something with long sleeves. Then again he'd be next to a warm hearth by now if his all-or-nothing lady friend had shown up on time.
Damn you, Prompto. Damn you, Luna.
"You're early", a familiar voice interrupted his peevish thoughts. "You look half-frozen."
"Early?" He stared at her incredulously. "You're the one who's late. I'm a minute away from looking fully frozen", he complained and tried to bury his numb chin underneath the feeble warmth of his collar.
"We agreed to meet here in two hours, Noct. You were not listening to me, were you?" Luna had that accusing look that he had learnt to recognize; her posture straight, hands on her hips, head slightly tilted to the side and her brows creased in a frown.
"Of course I listened! It just… slipped my mind."
"Just so." He didn't miss the roll of her eyes as she turned around and began to unbutton her light winter coat.
"What are you doing?" No sooner had he asked he felt warmth seep to his frostbitten skin. She helped him put her coat on that was several sizes too small for him. She took a step back and admired her handiwork.
"Can't say it compliments your curves, but at least it will keep you warm until we get back to the others."
He stared at her momentarily speechless. He noticed she was wearing a snug white high collared jumper and had a light blue scarf wrapped around her neck. The jumper's star-decorated hem reached mid-thigh. He didn't doubt she had several layers of clothing underneath her faded jeans as well. Guess she really was prepared for the noticeably colder climate, better than he was, anyway.
"I'd offer my gloves, but your hands are too big."
"That's fine", he stuffed his hands to the new coat's pockets which unfortunately were way too small to hold anything besides maybe a few keys inside. He attempted to pull the sleeves to cover his clammy hands, but they were too short. Who designed such impractical clothing? He ought to find them and talk sense into them before requesting their boss to fire and replace such incompetent fools. Frustrated, he opted to put his hands back to his own jacket's cold pockets. Better than nothing, he supposed.
Luna crossed her arms and looked at Noctis pensively. "You look positively ready to murder someone."
"Just in case someone dares to look my way and make strange assumptions", was his brusque reply.
"You could pull the hood up. No-one would be able to tell that you're a man", he didn't miss the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Just a woman who has outgrown her wardrobe."
"You mock me."
"Only when there's no-one else to witness it. It is your word against mine."
Clever little imp, aren't you.
They walked through a park. Frost crunched underneath their heavy boots. There was no snow, but the temperature was well below freezing. The sun hid behind a thick layer of grey clouds and the daylight was quickly fading. Noctis' hunched figure would have easily blended with his dark surroundings if it weren't for the white coat he wore. Luna on the other hand positively glowed in the dark with her light hair, pale skin and white clothes. She reminded him of a beacon. While the actual beacons helped ships not to crash into shoals, his beacon helped him not crash into nearby trees.
The street lamps slowly flickered to life as the natural light made room for dusk. Just as well, his flashlight was out of batteries and he didn't wish to fumble around blindly even if he had a walking-talking glow stick next to him. He doubted she would find his newest mental descriptions of her flattering.
"You know, usually it's the man offering the jacket to the lady", he commented off-handedly as he shambled next to her.
"Good thing tradition is overrated, right?" She cast him a sly glance. He recognized his old quote and grinned to himself behind his collar before replying in a serious tone: "Exactly."
The park had been deserted except for the two of them and even the streets had only few people hurrying home to warmth. There was a strange absence of car traffic besides the occasional public transport.
"Guess the locals do not wish to take a risk with black ice", Luna pondered.
"They don't have studded tires for winter? Thought they'd be prepared in a cold climate like this."
"This is the coldest it has been for as long as I've lived. It used to be much warmer here; I often visited this city as a child with my parents. It only gets this cold near the mountains further north. I suspect something", she paused, her brows knitting together in worry, "less natural as the cause."
Noctis' brows shot up. "You think she has begun to live here?"
"I would not be surprised if the first snowstorm in generations were to hit in the upcoming weeks", she wrapped her arms around herself and suppressed a shiver.
"Shiva", Noctis whispered. "We need to discuss this with the others and observe the situation. Her last known location was up north, but it's been rumored that the blizzards have ceased and the year-round snow has begun to melt. It's not out of the question that she would've decided to have a change in scenery."
Luna held her right elbow with her left hand while her right hand's forefinger flicked against her collarbone, a subconscious habit she had when she was deep in thought. He found it endearing.
"I doubt she would change location for something as human as boredom. There must be a reason."
"I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it soon."
She rubbed her chilled arms with her gloved hands. "Hopefully by then you'll have your own winter coat."
Noctis took a step away from her and held the coat possessively. "And here I was starting to get used to it."
"Might as well wear a corset to complete the look, then." She reached forward and patted his hair, trying to smooth it to a style more befitting to a woman. He brushed her pestering hand away and chuckled huskily.
"Don't think they come in my size."
A snowflake fell, then another. Soon the sky was full of gently swaying white powder. The flakes casted shadows against the street lamp's light under which the two young adults stood. Perhaps the cold had addled his brain, but Noctis swore he saw the fallen frost beads form a crown on top of his fiancée's head. Then again it must have been a combination of his mind playing tricks and the angle of the light. The moment she stepped out of the light, the illusion was broken.
"It has been awhile since I've seen virgin snow such as this", she muttered to herself as she took in the sight of snowfall in the dim light. Noctis hmm'ed in response and moved beside her. He ignored her puzzled expression as he awkwardly wrapped his arm around her shivering form, the unfitting sleeve of her coat restricting his movement slightly. He'd hoarded their source of warmth for long enough, he figured. To his satisfaction she melded to his side almost instantly, their breaths merging in a dance of steam.
"I thought you were in a hurry to get back", she glanced up at him, expression unreadable.
"I was", he agreed and lowered his head until their noses touched. She wet her lips unconsciously and stared back at him wide-eyed. He was so close to indulging himself with the taste of her pale chapped lips, but the apprehension in her gaze held him back. He let out a shuddering breath and opted to plant a sweet kiss on the corner of her lips before withdrawing. Gently guiding her with his arm still around her, they walked in silence, neither not really knowing what to say, but still feeling oddly content.
He hoped the seams of her coat would hold until they got to their destination.