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moonlight-at-dawn · 5 years

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Lunoct || “A Strange Request at a Piano Bar”

For Lunoct Celebration Days @lunoctweek, fits the day 5 prompt “carnival”

Note: This story came about from a prompt writing journal. "Write the story: A strange request at a piano bar. Include the following in your story: -carnival -sprained -mask -oxidation -awkward -apple -juvenile -controversy -twirl -sassafras

Summary: Prince Noctis adores the lovely blonde who plays piano, but it takes losing a bet to get him to approach her

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"Now's your chance," Gladiolus smirked, nudging his royal charge and pointing toward the bar. "A bet's a bet, and you lost. Get going."

Noctis frowned into his disappointingly empty glass. Yes, sure, he did very much want to speak with the beautiful blonde who had been playing piano just before. But not under these circumstances! Of course, if left to his own devices, he was unlikely to muster up the courage to do it at all.

A boot suddenly stuck itself between the legs of his chair, and when Gladio took his leg back, Noct's chair spun around with a horrendous screech. Several people turned at the sound, including the angel of gold and white. Shooting his guard a glare, Noct got up and his awkward emotions behind a well trained mask of princely pride.

Leaning an elbow on the counter, Noct spoke up to the bartender. "Apple martini," he ordered, feeling a heat rise in his face. He did like the drink, but he liked appearing cool far more. The order was part of the bet however, and he turned with a confidence he didn't feel, giving the pianist a smile. "You're beautiful. I! I mean, your music is beautiful! I mean, you are too, but, I just, I...," he trailed off at her knowing giggles, and he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "S-Sorry. Let me try again. I'm Noct."

"Lunafreya," she answered, holding out a hand. Her voice was as musical as the rest of her. Whatever that meant. He was damn glad he hadn't said that one out loud. Any moment nnow, he expected his ID to be double-checked, he was behaving like a juvenile.

He shook her hand, feeling her warmth only along the fingers of his sprained hand clad in a cloth brace. She smiled and he knew his time was running out. Drawing in a deep breath, he let it out in a torrent of words, his eyes fixed on the wine twirling in her glass, watching the oxidation instead of her face as he torpedoed all chances to get to know her better. "Do you take requests? Because I was wondering, there's this carnival song I love, I don't know the name, but it goes like," he paused to pound down the martini right when it was set before him. He missed the change in her expression as he did, but the snort of laughter she hid behind a sip of deep red wine was a final encouragement as he quietly sang some very embarrassing lyrics.

"Oh, lay me down low, on the hills that roll and flow, where the sassafras does grow, and the root beer is so cooold!"

He held the last note for a moment, his voice soft and heard by only her. And the bartender, Noct realized, as a snort of stunned laughter alerted him. His face burned, and the man set down a much needed double of cheap vodka, which Noct seemed to expertly tilt back. The drink made it down, but the speed was a mistake, as Noct sputtered and coughed, and dumbly repeated with the next drink set in front of him.

Holding his head as vodka and wine went straight to his brain, he shyly picked his head back up to look at the lovely musician's face. She was laughing, but somehow it didn't seem to be so much at him, as the simple antics themselves.

"I... I'm sorry," he mumbled, gaze turning down to his hands as the drink buzzed through him. "I, uh, I lost a bet. That's why, the dumb song... Please, don't play that. Play something good. Something beautiful. Like you..." He risked another peek as he mumbled, and saw a flicker of confused disappointment turn into shy amusement. Her ears were tinged pink, the only sign of the blush hidden under her makeup. Had, had all of that actually worked!? He was stunned by that thought, and his brain further shut down when Lunafreya stood up, took his hand, and raised it to brush her lips across his knuckles as though she were the prince, not him.

"If you stick around, please, see me when I'm done for the night. As long as the request was the only part that was a bet." She said it like a statement, but her eyes held question.

"It was!" he rushed to assure her, "I will!"

She smiled at him, and returned to the stage. That was the last night she performed at that particular lounge, and it was the beginning of their relationship. There came to be some controversy around the pairing, the prince and the pianist who lost her reputation because of her new penchant for performing cheesy, uninspired carnival music, no matter the venue's prestige.

#lunoctcelebrationdays #lunoct #noctluna #alty writes

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prynacle · 5 years

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[Fanfic] Father & Son

Lunoct Celebration Days @lunoctweek

August 30 || Day 1: Happy Birthday, Noctis!

Characters: Noctis Lucis Caelum & Regis Lucis Caelum. Genre: Slice of Life. Summary: Regis, as King, has a lot on his plate: war, duty and even a prophesy, yet he manages those fairly well. Isn't it odd then that Regis, the father, can't make some time for his one and only duty?

[Epilogue]

Dejection.

The face his son briefly flashed after declining his quiet invitation to expend the afternoon together had definitely been one of dejection.

Naturally, Noctis had masked it as soon as it appeared, quick enough so that it didn’t linger on his mind, and he, who was too wrapped around the unflattering military news that reached him that morning, had accepted the answer despite a more perceptive part of his subconscious registering the detail. It wasn’t unexpected then why, after reciting a matter-of-factly rundown of his schedule to Noctis, their breakfast had turned uncomfortably silent, with what he now understood had been an unvoiced truth lingering heavy in the air.

The pregnant silence had been the reason why he had given it a thought afterwards in the first place, and now that he took the time to review what was say and done that morning, he felt ashamed of how blind he had been to all the signals that were clearly present.

Regis briefly rubbed his brown once the eyes around the ongoing council meeting turned to a member sitting far from him on the table, and seized the moment to dig further into his memory.

As expected, some details still didn’t catch up.

Because… when was the last time he made-up a bedtime story for Noctis? How many meals had he skipped with him in the last month? When was the last time his son had shown unannounced in his office? He honestly couldn’t remember, and the realization sent a shiver down his back.

Had he truly been neglecting his son? When King Mors still ruled, Regis had been involved early on external affairs. Theirs was a relationship grounded on war and duty; they had always been King and successor Prince, and while he never felt particularly close to Mors, the man, they bonded over a shared understanding of what was truly important: Eos.

That had been Mors and Regis. The same couldn’t be said for Regis and Noctis.

Having been firsthand witness of the horrors of the enemy, tasted defeat and felt the sorrow of trials yet to come, Regis set his mind on giving Noctis a life different to the one he had had.

It was not Noctis’ place to be at the center of a war at his tender age. All he ever wanted for him was to learn, love and smile; to experience life at its fullest, for as long as he could allow him. Thus, being a fatherly figure to him, especially to compensate since Aulea's absence, had been his priority early on, and he had managed fairly well until Niflheim started creeping closer again.

That is just how things are, says a voice in his head, and Regis finds himself somewhat agreeing. Everything he did, he did it to protect Noctis, his future...

…and everyone else’s.

As long as he were King, the crown weighed on him with responsibilities he needed to take care of if he wanted the best for his son. It was the right thing to do. He was justified.

That's what King Regis thought.

But Regis, the father, wasn’t blind to his excuses.

No matter how grounded on logic, reason, loyalty and sacred duty those were, there was no good enough of an excuse for placing those sad, resigned eyes on his young son.

The king would continue to rule, but the father... where had he gone? Sitting on a chair, forever mourning time lost? Now that he listened to him, it was obvious he had neglected himself, as much as he had his son. He yearned to do so much more for him-- with him.

To see that carefree smile on his son’s face would be his ultimate reward.

The focus around the table shifted again, and the meeting moved onto a review on public affairs that Regis was already updated on, so he allowed his mind to completely muffle out their voices, free to wander further away.

Lately, dinner had been the only moment he and Noctis shared together through the day.

Some days, when emergencies demanded, they could not even have that. Regis was too busy leading a country, and Noctis was too busy attending elementary school. Soon, his son would be hitting puberty, wouldn’t he? There he would start grown fast, too fast, and for a moment Regis entertained himself imagining what kind of man his son would become. With the way things were going however, he was afraid all that growth would happen away from his eyes.

If he didn’t pay him enough attention, he could soon end up dinning with a stranger at his table.

Waking out of his pessimistic trance, Regis shushed and chastised himself. Would Aulea be here, she would do as much. “Look at you. Aren't you overthinking it? That was never your strong point, Regis. Acting on your hunches has always earned you better results,” he could hear her remind him between chuckles.

Aulea always knew him best, in ways nobody ever did.

Making up his mind, he focused again in the ongoing discussion, decided to wrap things up as quickly as possible.

Today, he would expend quality time with his son.

It’s been far too long since.

Noctis sat on the grass, yawning under the shade of a few trees at the park outside the citadel, finally unsupervised.

He had managed to trick his chaperone into thinking he needed to practice nature drawing for art class at the castle’s garden, only to leave his tools abandoned under a bush and make his escape from the stuffy atmosphere of the citadel through his secret exit—a set of selected glass panels with loose, rusty screws. With each of his successful escapes came the taste of a thrilling sense of adventure, and he sometimes wondered if it was anything similar to how his father had felt when he went out with his friends outside the city, many years ago.

Like he once told him in his bed-time stories.

That, too, that had been many years ago.

Sighing, Noctis relaxed against the bark of one of the trees, its roots curved enough for him to lay at the right angle and be cradled without risking a stiff neck. Comfortable as he was, it wasn't hard to brush some flecks of hair aside to take in the soothing beauty of the trees surrounding him; the warm light of the sun seeping through the leaves, the lazy shadows they made around him, dancing along with the movement of the wind.

This was something he could do all day: sleeping against his favorite resting tree, away from the suffocating stiff attention of the castle’s personal. Just him, the sound of chirping birds and the wind caressing his hair and skin.

Sometimes it felt a bit cold at given moments, though.

And suddenly humid.

Actually, it was cold because it was humid, and only in this one specific spot on his face, too. Had a raindrop fallen from the tree leaves and he hadn't noticed?

Opening his eyes, Noctis' view was greeted by an endless sea of black.

“Woaaaah!” he yelped, tumbling back in the grass. From his place, flat atop the dirt ground some steps from where he had been sleeping, he saw the face of his offender.

Umbra’s black fur shined healthily under the afternoon light, the white mark on his snout bending around his cheerful expression. His wet nose was leaning close to where Noctis’ face had been moments before, and If he had noticed Noctis’ outburst, the dog feigned ignorance.

“Umbra! How did you find me? ...Ah, your nose…right, never mind.” Noctis said, the laugh in his voice still laced with lingering drowsiness. Getting up on his knees, Noctis patted Umbra's head, reassuring himself of his presence. “You scared me.”

Giving him a whine and a lick to his hand, Umbra sat back, waiting patiently for Noctis’ full attention as he finished scrubbing his eyes awake.

If the dog was here, it could only mean…

“Did Luna send something back already?” excitement filled Noctis face. Taking out his shared journal, he readied himself to read Luna’s handwriting under cover of the tree’s shadow. As he reached the latest entry page, his cellphone ringtone started beeping, and the caller’s ID on the screen had him on his feet in an instant.

Sliding the screen to answer, Noctis' hurriedly started to make his way back to the castle. He had barely time to catch his breath. “Dad?!”

“May I know where are you right now, son?” Noctis started jogging.

“I was just…the garden…” dammit, had he been discovered already? His mind razed for a decent lie, but if his father was the one calling, his chances of getting away with it were pretty low. He couldn’t just simply lie to him, not over a call right after his nap.

The small laugh on the other side of the line made him stop his jog completely, Umbra watching him with curiosity at his side. “You fell asleep on the gardens, didn’t you? I’ll be over there in a moment, don’t move.” The call ended, and move he did, shoving the phone back into his pocket and clutching the red diary hard to his chest while running through the small tunnels and alleys that shortcutted his secret road towards the castle. As he entered through the glass panels, he saw his father reach his chaperone side, exchanging a few words.

“This will have to wait, Umbra. Wait for me in my room, I will catch up later, ok?” Tucking the journal back into Umbra’s pouch, he dismissed him, approaching his father with a practiced calm he didn't currently feel.

“Father.”

The chaperone excused herself and went away, leaving King and Prince alone to talk. Alone. That in itself was a rarity, one that made his heart stir uneasily.

“Did something happen?”

“Yes." Looking up to his father, Noctis felt paralyzed by the intensity of his gentle stare. “Something changed indeed.”

Walking merely a meter behind his father's steps, Noctis felt his uneasiness start to waver. If he wasn’t in trouble for sneaking out, why had he come to look specifically for him? Willing his fingers to relax, Noctis considered his words carefully before asking. “Where are we going?”

Regis slows down his pace to match his own stride, walking now at his side. The creases on father’s brown softened slightly.

“When was the last time you and I used the training grounds together?”

Noctis doesn’t reply and Regis takes his eyes off him, seemingly gloomier.

“Too long, isn’t it?”

“…I’m still not allowed training.”

Sometimes, he wondered if he would ever be allowed training again.

Truth to be told, it had only been two years since his injury with the Marilith, but he had been already allowed to start participating in PE at school as early as last year, too. Training, however, was still off-talk.

The doctors never outright said it, but he understood that they were scared of him reopening his wounds somehow, claiming that the possibility of the involvement of the scourge and Oracle magic could have a negative reaction to his own magic. It was a risk they weren't willing to take, they said. What they didn't know, was that Luna had already dismissed that possibility, but that was something Noctis couldn't disclose to them.

Back when the incident happened, it had been Oracle Silva who had personally supervised his injury in Tenebrae, where it had progressed with good results, and even as he and his father had to abruptly return to Insomnia, his wound kept healing with the help of what he knew was magic, days after the announcement of the Oracle’s passing.

It was only because he showed signs of a generally weakened physique upon returning that Clarus had deemed it unwise for him to continue his training with his father, indefinitely postponing his armiger and magic inductions.

He would soon be eleven, and his weapon capabilities were flimsy at best, while he still didn’t have the basic grasp on warp and elemental magic down. His dad had been way ahead of him at his age, hadn't he?

And here he couldn’t even get some sort of…

Trust.

Trust that he was already fine and ready to become stronger. If only his dad could see how much he had progressed...

The weight of a hand on his shoulder took him out of his thoughts, looking up to see Regis smile warmly at him. He realized they had walked quite far from the gardens, to a section of the castle that seemed vaguely familiar.

In front of them, stood a door he hadn't seen in some time.

Extending his arm, his father pushed the doors to the Crownsguard training hall open, it’s creakings magnified by the echo in the empty room.

“I am not imposing on you, am I? If you would rather do something else…”

“That’s not it.”

He knows better than staring, but something in Noctis stops him from looking away from the long, graying strands hanging over his father’s eyes. Would this be fair?

“If you are scared of losing against this old man, you can say so, Noctis.”

He scowls, but it comes out looking more like a pout, and Regis cheeky smile grows wider.

That was exactly the opposite of what he meant, and he was certain Regis knew as much, but now his dad was taking the soccer ball from the supply cabinets, bouncing it on his good leg before dropping it to stop it under his shoe with a swift stomp.

“Don’t think I’ll be going easy on you, my son."

If Noctis was to have it his way, that wouldn't be changing anytime soon.

A/N: This is a very special fanfic for me, as it was the very first one I drafted, written before the game even came out. It took me 3 years to finally flesh it out, but here it is! Forgive me if the grammar seems a little wonky or stiff at times, I tried to fix and edit it as much as I could but, no matter how many time I reread it, there's still something... odd on it? Hopefully it doesn't come across as bad to you as I feel it is. If you can, tell me what you think of it!

As you can see, some parts are heavily influenced by the Brotherhood anime and Platinum demo too, with some sprinkles of A King's Tale. Noct and Regis' bond is a special one I‘ve always wanted to touch upon, and when Carbuncle commented that Noctis wanted to play soccer with his dad on the demo, I knew what I had to write about.

Also, don't worry about Umbra, he is having the time of his life spreading fur all over Noctis' bedsheets. There's still an epilogue coming, and it will be about what Luna sent in the notebook! This fic is part of the Lunoct celebration days, right? :p

Thanks for reading!

#LunoctCelebrationDays #Noctis Lucis Caelum #Regis Lucis Caelum #FFXV #Final Fantasy XV #FF15 #Final Fantasy 15 #wmine #mine #fic

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