Notes: Consider this an au to FFXV where not everyone was evacuated and some people were stuck in the city to be ruled over by Ardyn. It also takes inspiration in some ways from the Dawn of the Future storyline, but again, not entirely. Basically I had this idea in my head for a while where Luna lost her faith in the gods after being brought back by Bahamut and chose to join Ardyn instead, eventually becoming his queen.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, please consider leaving me a review!
Ten years had passed since the kingdom of Lucis had last seen the light of day. Ten years since it had lost the late King Regis, and since his successor King Noctis had gone missing. Ten years since Chancellor Ardyn Izunia had taken the throne, revealing himself as Ardyn Lucis Caelum. And eight years since Lady Lunafreya, the former Oracle and Princess of Tenebrae had become his queen.
It was hardly the destiny that Lunafreya had been expecting. In fact, had someone told this ten years prior, she wouldn't have believed them. And if she did, she would have been horrified, thus was her devotion to the gods.
She let out a small huff of a laugh. That was then and this was now.
"You look positively radiant, my dear Lunafreya," Ardyn said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
She didn't so much as startle at his touch, having grown quite used to it. There had once been a time when she was revolted by his mere presence, thinking him a monster and an abomination. How blinded she had been back then. Now she saw him for what he truly was.
Cursed. Broken. Abandoned by the gods. Just like her.
"What has you in such a flirty mood this evening?" She asked. At least she believed it to be evening. It was hard to determine the time of day when there was no sun to rise or set in the sky. They had since developed a system of telling time by counting the hours that passed, but it was taking some getting used to.
"I'm always in a flirty mood with you, you should know that," he insisted as he leaned his head down to press a tender kiss to the side of her exposed neck. "Besides, is it such a crime for a man to compliment his own wife?"
Luna couldn't help but lean back into him, a small moan escaping from her mouth as she felt his lips trail down the delicate skin of her neck to where skin met the fabric of her dress. His hands spread out across her belly, tracing the curves of her hips down to her thighs, inching ever closer to that spot that already ached with desire.
"I-I suppose not," she said breathlessly.
Grabbing a fist full of fabric, Ardyn lifted the skirt of her dress so that it pooled up at her waist, his fingers toying with the band of her lace underwear. "Is this for me?" Though she couldn't see his face at that moment, she still knew he was grinning that signature smirk of his. "You spoil me, my dear."
"We're on the balcony, Ardyn," she reminded him. "What if someone sees us?"
"Then they'll have the privilege of seeing their king ravish his queen."
"Ardyn!" She chastised, spinning around to face him.
Sure enough, there was that smirk of his. That smirk which she found to be equally infuriating as it was charming. "You needn't worry, my dear. We are far too high up for anyone to notice." He let out a chuckle as he released his hold on her skirt to instead reach up and cup her face. "However, if you'd rather we take this inside the bedroom, I might be persuaded to oblige."
She rolled her eyes up at him, but couldn't suppress the small smirk that played across her own lips. "If you're not too tired after a long day of kingly responsibilities," she teased.
A strange gleam lit in his eyes, his smirk twisting into something predatory. They both knew that he was no such thing. Ardyn was immortal the same as her, making them immune to most human afflictions, tiredness included. They didn't even need to sleep to be perfectly honest. It was more of a habit they made in order to retain some small sense of normalcy.
"I'll show you tired."
In the blink of an eye, he had swept her off her feet, carrying her so that she was straddling him as he walked with her back into their shared bedroom. Lunafreya had originally been given a room of her own, but she had soon abandoned it in favor of staying with Ardyn. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement on both their parts, as they found each other's presence helped keep the nightmares at bay. Not to mention any unwanted night time visits from the gods.
No sooner were they inside, then Ardyn crossed over to the king sized bed and set her down on the edge. Then he knelt down before her, his smoldering amber eyes practically undressing her on their own as he lifted her skirt up to her waist once more, fingers reaching for the lace underwear they had discovered previously. He eyed them briefly before discarding them off to the side without a care. His true prize lay hidden beneath them, now exposed and aching with anticipation.
"Look how wet you are, my dear," he remarked, teasing her by tracing his fingers gently over her folds, slick as they were with her yearning. "And all for me?"
"Only for you."
Her words visibly pleased him judging by the way his grin stretched even further, completely overtaking his face. "Well then, I shan't let such a delectable meal go to waste."
He partook of her without hesitation, his tongue hungrily lapping at her as it slipped inside. Lunafreya arched her back, one hand fisted in the bedsheets underneath her for support and the other fisted in his red-violet hair. She tried her hardest to restrain herself, but such efforts were quickly proven to be in vain. The sight of his head between her legs, eyes staring up at her with the hunger of a man who's been starved for over a millenia… The feel of stubble rubbing against her thighs… It did things to her, made her feel things that the old Lunafreya would have considered positively sinful.
She had always clung firmly to the light, but not any longer. With Ardyn, she allowed herself to let go of everything. She accepted the darkness that was inside of him, the same darkness that was now inside of her as well. She gave herself over to it, just as she gave herself over to him. And yet, Luna had never felt so light, as if her body had been freed from a terribly heavy burden. In a way, he was her light in the darkness, just as she was his. The only light that either of them had.
"Ardyn…" she moaned, her fingers digging tightly into his scalp. "Please…"
She knew for a fact that he knew what she was asking for, but still he took his time in obliging her as he continued to tease and taste her. Eventually as her desperation grew almost unmanageable, he finally relented, and pulling away from her, leaned over so that he was towering over her on the bed.
"Please, what?" he asked. "I want to hear you say exactly what it is you want."
"I want you… I want you inside me, now."
Ardyn smirked with satisfaction. "As you wish, my dear."
And then he was on her, practically tearing her dress off of her as she struggled to rid him of his clothes in return. It was only after her dress had been rid of that Ardyn pulled away again, be it only briefly to help her out. He slipped the shirt up over his head, before reaching down to help her slide his pants down, kicking them off with an almost effortless ease.
With nothing more between them, they were finally joined.
Luna cried out at the initial penetration before quickly growing used to his size and melting against him. She clung to him like a lifeline as he thrust inside of her, filling her with his semen, her nails digging into the rough skin of his back that was already crisscrossed with scars from his past.
He had scars all over his body, each one telling a different tale of how the world had abused him. It honestly astonished her sometimes. To think he had been through so much pain, and yet it only seemed to make him all the more stronger. And yet, in those intimate moments with him, he allowed himself to be weak with her, trusting her enough to give his own body over to her. She knew it wasn't necessarily easy for him, knew of the betrayal he had experienced at the hands of his former lover.
Although she bore a striking resemblance to the first oracle, the two of them were two very different women, a fact which both herself and Ardyn knew all too well. And she swore when she married him that she would do her best to help him forget she even existed in the first place. Perhaps not permanently, as the memories never truly left him, but at moments such as those.
"Lunafreya," he uttered her name with such reverence, you would think he was praying to a goddess. And perhaps he was. The only goddess he actually revered.
"Ardyn," she spoke his name with equal reverence, letting out a cry of release as they reached their climax together.
They remained joined for a while longer, riding out the last wave of pleasure before their bodies were properly sated. He pulled out of her, only to wrap her in his arms and pull her once more against him, moving her head to rest against his chest as they both caught their breath. And in that moment, there was nothing but bliss.
"I have but one complaint against our immortality," he claimed. "And that is, were it not for our curse, my seed might actually take root inside of you and bloom with the fruits of our love."
She craned her neck to look over at him. They had never really discussed the topic of children before, and Luna had always just assumed it was because Ardyn didn't deem it necessary. After all, they had been married for eight years without any such effect.
"I didn't know you wanted children."
"It never even crossed my mind, not until I met you," He shrugged it off. "And you? Surely you must have dreamed about having children some day."
She shook her head sadly. Truth be told, she was much the same in that aspect. She had always known exactly what was expected of her in life, what she would be expected to sacrifice in the grand scheme of the gods. "I never thought I'd live long enough. However, I suppose it would be a nice dream to have."
Ardyn hummed in agreement. "Then again, perhaps it's for the best. I don't imagine the gods would take too kindly to the offspring of a couple of monsters such as ourselves."
He made a valid point. She wouldn't want to bring a child into such a world, knowing that they would be subjected to the gods wrath the same as they both had. It was just another thing in life the gods had robbed them of. And she realized just how sad it was that people often took such seemingly simple things for granted in life.
"I'm satisfied with things the way they are now, just the two of us."
He nodded his head. "As am I."
Lunafreya awoke to find the other side of the bed empty. It didn't exactly worry her per say, as he was known to wake before her, but it was still unusual for him to be out of bed before her. He usually preferred to simply lay there and hold her until she showed signs of stirring. Pushing herself upward into a sitting position, she quickly scanned the room, having no difficulty seeing in the dark thanks to her new powers.
She soon spotted the tall, imposing figure of her husband standing out on the balcony, the same as she had been the evening before. Climbing out from beneath the covers, she quickly located her robe and slipped it on before venturing outside to join him. This time it was her who came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. She meant to return his earlier flirting, but stopped before she could even get the words out of her mouth as she noticed how tense he seemed. He held himself with a stiffness that was not like him.
"What's wrong?"
He didn't so much as turn to face her. "Do you sense it?"
Retracting her arms from around him, she stepped up to the edge of the balcony railing beside him and closed her eyes, allowing herself to stretch out with her powers to sense anything that might be amiss. Her eyes flew back open a few moments later as she came across a strange sensation. "There is a shift in the air," she remarked. "It feels… powerful."
"He has returned."
It took her a moment to figure out who he could mean before it came to her at last, her eyes widening with the realization.
Noctis… After all those years, Noctis had finally returned. Which could only mean one thing. And Lunafreya didn't quite know how to feel about it.
Slowly Ardyn turned to face her and she saw that his powers were seeping out from beneath the surface of his skin, his eyes glowing brightly as black veins began to form. It was a terrifying sight to most, but she had seen it enough times by that point that it didn't frighten her.
"It begs the question… Are you with me? Or are you with him?"