#noctlea | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

airlea-sicarius · 6 years

Text

Time Heals all Wounds (Noctlea)

Word Count: 3, 225

A/N: Finally finished it! Because I’m pretty rusty and I didn’t really plan it, the first section is how Valentine’s day wasn’t a happy time and was often a day where last farewells were said.

It’s kinda post IUDV (depending upon where I finish it) but if you read my Noctlea christmas one shots it wouldn’t really be a spoiler XD

I think it got better near the end, but I did ramble A LOT (of course). And TODDLER NOCTLEA CHILD HAD MY HEART DEAD

Regarless, hope you enjoy! I had quite a bit of fun writing this. And don’t forget to send me Noctlea comic ideas XD

Tagging: @jojopitcher @1000wolflover @bluefirefox23 @amicitonia

February: the month of love. The cold month of red, heart shaped boxes of heart shaped chocolates with red metallic wrappers around each one. Some are truffles, others caramels one had a nut in the centre and the rest are plain. The last gift for some… For many. No one could have known that, despite the fall if Insomnia and the death of many, there would be even more death, destruction and chaos. No one could have imagined that the light was going to falter - lose its unseen strength - and the daemon population wasn’t just growing bigger, but stronger. It is to these fiends that many would lose their loved ones: lovers were broken, marriages were ripped apart, families collapsed. Every. Single. Godforsaken day.

And Airlea could do nothing about it. It had been five years since she had given birth to her son… to Noct’s son… If she were to even think about going out into the open and attacking the beasts that swarmed the plains of Lucis, that fathered the nightmare’s of the planet, that were the spawn of he who claimed himself to be King, she’d have the boys lecture her. Her son was her top priority. Constantly being on the move to protect him was even harder than difficult.

She didn’t realise how mentally exhausted she was until she saw the deprivation on her features, the sigh that was never heard, the tears that were never shed. The scar on her arm that had never healed, the tatters of her shirt, the bullet holes in her cardigan… the sleepless nights she would never be able to catch up on.

“Mummy…” The soft patter of bare feet on the kitchen tile alerted her to her son, voice hoarse from a rude awakening. And when to looked over her shoulder, she saw his pyjamas were twisted and a cuddly carbuncle toy was nestled to his chest. His eyes were red, and his face began to twist and curl as if he were about to break.

Airlea took a step towards him and opened her arms, kneeling onto the cold floor as she did so. He ran to her, and she embraced him tightly, securely. She didn’t speak, allowing him to calm down for a moment. “No one, not anyone, not anything, is going to hurt you now…” She pressed a kiss to his temple. “As long as I’m around, you’re safe. As long as your uncles are around, you’re safe. As long as Aunty Audacia is around, you’re safe.” She pulled away just enough to cup his face gently and wipe away his tears. “But, most importantly, so long as Daddy’s here, you’re safe.”

He blinked in momentary confusion before looking away. “He’s never home, Mummy. He doesn’t care.”

“He does care, Regis.”

“Then why doesn’t he ever come home? You promised me he’d be here, but he never shows up when I think about him.”

Airlea sighed gently. “He is here, Reggie.” She smiled softly, grabbing the attention of her son once more. “You may not see him, and he may not be here in the same way as you and I. But his love has left a scar, where he grows within you. Right here, in your heart.” She pressed her index finger roughly where his heart was situated. “He never got a chance to know you, but I can tell you that you are his world. Just as you are mine. He may be pretty useless at looking after kids, but he’d sure do whatever he could to keep you safe. Just as his father had for him.”

Regis gave a soft laugh and wiped his nose on his sleeve.”When will Daddy come home,

Mummy?”

“I do not know.But to me, he’s already here within you.” She swept a hand through his black locks. “You look every bit like him. And for Prompto and Gladdy to see that face of yours after months away, they smile so brightly because they know that the true King of Luis never left. And that one day, he’ll come back. Surprised about you, sure, but he’ll cry. And you’ll cry. And he’d be motivated to wake up every morning just to teach you how to fish.”

Regis laughed again. “Mummy, can you teach me?”

She thought for a moment, but the cheeky smile said all he wanted to here. “I’ll teach the basics. Now come on. I’ll tell you some stories to help you sleep.”

“Hehe. Thank you, Mummy.” He took her hand and grinned up at her. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mummy.” She looked at him with a sweet smile, eyebrows raised in a perplexed expression. “Daddy isn’t here to make your day special, so I wanted to tell you so you could wake up happy instead.”

“Thank you. Come on. Let’s get to bed.”

---

Noctis looked up at the stars.His hands were behind his head as he stretched out on the ground of Duscae. In his head, he picked out the different constellations, remembering moments during his childhood that he and Airlea had snuck out to look up at the stars in a clearing nearby to the Citadel. Somewhere only their father’s would find them, often joining in. A smile graced his features, followed by a gentle purr at the sensation of fingers weaving through his locks.

“I take it you like that, huh?” Airlea’s voice was gentle and kind, calm and attentive. He could tell the years of being a single mother had influenced the tone she used. It drove him to pull his gaze from the sky to the face that hung above him.

“Like is an understatement.” He grinned at her and grasped one of her hands. “You know, being King means moments like these are even more special.”

“And bounty hunting on Valentine’s is just as fun as when we would fight daemons without anyone knowing.” Her smile widened. “Those were the days.”

“And our son wasn’t?”

“It was tough. A different struggle every month. But there was one struggle which lasted a very long time, and the questions asking when you’d return didn’t make life any easier.” Airlea lowered herself slightly to press her lips to his own. “But it was worth it to see him smile so wide. And to see you cry of joy for once was a great relief. Shame Regis inherited your nightmares though.”

“Hey, I’m innocent here.I could have died that day… Hell I was preparing myself for it. Knowing that I had a family -”

“You came out of there alive, Noct. Most importantly, you came out of there fairing better than me. We both know that’s unheard of.”

“Right. Says the one who was always getting herself in sticky situations when this whole journey began.”

“Let me believe that stuff never happened.”

The teasing from both parties brought a smile to the King’s face. For many, Valentine’s day was about giving and showing affection towards a significant other. Date nights, dinners, parties, looking after the kids instead, giving them gifts and thank you cards whilst stuffing them up with chocolate. Even in High School Noctis made an effort to do something for Airlea as thanks for putting up with him (and because he was madly in love with her). But now, their day was to begin with a fight. A bounty. True, he shouldn’t be needing the 50,000 gil, but it was an opportunity for the couple to do something for the people who believed in him, to raise money to help rebuild and pay for the healthcare. It was a start to a new beginning. Despite the worries of his hardly ever sleeping new father of an advisor, Noctis made the decision and that was that. Even Audacia in the middle of labour reprimanded the decision, claiming that he’d already done enough.

But they all knew they were really worried that he was slacking. Especially since he was ‘ignoring’ his main meetings. But Airlea was the soldier who went, returned with a video, and nothing ever happened. What was the point of going to a meeting about ‘home and health insurance’ when there were no homes or health insurance? He firmly believed that rebuilding came first for a better, more comfortable, wait. In a good home, the people would be safer. In a cold room waiting for progress, the public would rebel, would they not?

Besides, he wasn’t the paperwork kinda guy. Actually doing something to help made him feel like he was being useful. Not locked up in a palace, being forced to eat vegetable by his own son because ‘dad looked ill so I made him eat his sprouts’.

“Once we’ve finished this bounty, we’re going to Lestallum, and we’re going to stay in the Leville. And we’re going to crash. And then we’ll wake up, eat, and go back to sleep. And we;ll ignore every phone call we get that isn’t from Prompto or Regis.And I swear to the astrals above that if Audacia calls me in the middle of the night asking me how to successfully burp a bloody baby, I’m going to say ‘look it up on the internet ya bugger’ and go to sleep. And if Ignis calls me and open up with a yawn, you know what I’m going to say?”

Noctis shook his head. “What?”

“‘Do not call me until you’ve put that cup of ebony down, took some sleeping pills, and gone to sleep.” She sighed. “I am determined to actually make him sleep. And if that means I go over there and knock him out only to come back, I will.”

---

It was safe to say that the bounty was harder than Noctis had expected. Sweat beaded on his forehead, heart pounding against his chest and his throat felt like Leide’s desert mixed in with the soil of Ravatogh. His hands were clammy, his legs starting to fill with lactic acid. He was rusty. Somehow. But he could see that Airlea, too, was starting to tire. It was with one last shout of anger and a sharp flick of her wrist that a great flame took hold of the Midgardsormr. After hours of fighting, dawn already starting to settle in, the couple found solitude on a nearby rock, basking in the cool arrival of the winter sun.

“You’re hurt.”

“Hm?” Noctis followed Airlea’s gaze to the gash in his hand. “Oh.” He shrugged. “It’ll be fine. I’ve had worse.”

She clicked her tongue. “You’re not allowed to say that anymore. You nearly died bringing back the light to a ‘worse’ injury. And you’re not even fully recovered. I had to bribe Ignis with babysitting for the rest of the month just to get you out of Insomnia.” Airlea’s hand was cold against his own and, with the click of a finger, just had a potion in her hand and an antidote sachet connected to the bottle. “You’re just lucky it wasn’t deep enough to damage your tendons.” She released it and opened the potion, poured the sachet of golden liquid into the bottle, and closed it again, giving it a good shake. “I’ll get my head served to Ignis on a silver platter for you even going into battle. I’d get a lecture if it was against a sabertusk, but a giant snake is probably worth my life to him.” She opened the bottle once more, slowly pouring the mixture onto his wound. “And our son is going to give me the worst evils, inherited from your side of the family. Think of your father when he gave you the disappointed ‘I did not raise you this way’ glare, and that’s what the little goblin has.”

“You’re forgetting that I’m the King.” Noctis brought his chin onto her shoulder. “I technically would take full responsibility for my actions.”

“And as my own person, I’d take responsibility for my own. And you fall under that category.” She looked at him dead in the eyes. “I nearly lose you to Luna, then I lost you to a bloody crystal, and then I nearly lost you again to Ardyn. Don’t you understand that it bloody terrifies me that you’re forgetting that your heart and your back are still healing -”

“I know full well that they are.” Noctis pulled Airlea into his arms, holding her against his chest. “Have you ever stopped to realise that it terrifies me when you go out hunting alone? You haven’t. Because you haven’t given yourself time to heal yourself.” He released a sigh. “Truth is, I will never recover when I stress over how much of Specs’ bad habits you’ve picked up. You’ve only slept once this week and my heart struggles when I see you in a bad shape.” He didn’t give her anytime to speak or walk away as he stood, picking her up and holding her tightly. “So we’re going to sleep. And then we’ll eat and head back to Insomnia. You will sleep again in the car, and then we’ll get back, and we’ll spend some quality time together, watching one of those Altissian movies.”

“You’re not going to put me down are you?”

“Nope.”

Her sigh had Noct grinning in triumph.

----

Heat radiated into the hotel room, the light passing through the glass windows, shrouding the room in a soft, comforting light. Noct’s eyes opened wearily, his body aching and small injuries that he didn’t know he had made themselves known. Under the duvet (which was pulled up to their shoulders) their bodies were a tangled mess, leg entwined and locked into place. Airlea’s head hadn’t moved from it’s spot on his arm since she fell into her slumber a few hours before, and her arm was graciously thrown over his waist in a half-hearted embrace.

The opportunity to see her sleeping was one he seldom had. He’d often catch her napping on the sofa between meetings, or if she fell asleep listening to Regis reading any book he could find. Other times she’d merely have to lay down and have the dog she rescued from a breeding facility perch nearby, and she’d be out like a light. These were all a rarity for him to see - throughout his years of knowing her (excluding the dark time in their life when he was… caged in a crystal) - so to see her now, sleeping soundly, breathing lightly, with a smile decorating her face, made his heart flutter, trying to be free of the confines of his chest.

Noctis ran his fingers through her hair, tucking strands behind her ear. She stirred slightly, moving closer into him. He instantly regretted reaching out, feeling guilty for waking her. But, to have her even closer to him, her face pressed against his chest and his arm now fully moveable, it was well worth it.

“Hey.” Even the sound of her voice, quiet and barely a single rasp, made him smile.

“Hey.”

She grinned up at him. “Your face is red.” Amusement filled her eyes and her lips quirked up slyly. “You like me close to you, huh.”

Noctis’ cheeks grew warm. But he was used to her wryly ways by now, and managed to mirror her expression. “What can I say? Anyone would want someone as beautiful as you - one who rivaled the stars and the sun themselves - in their bed, offering them comfort in the most endearing and utterly adorable way.” His smile turned smug and triumphant at her bashfulness, laughing at the playful shove he received. “What? I only speak the truth when I say that I’m the luckiest guy to have you.”

“Watch it loverboy, someone might think that you’re buttering me up for something.”

“What if I am?” He rolled onto his back and pulled her with him, making her legs release their vice on his own to straddle him. “What if I have a very important question and, knowing that you’re just the tiniest bit mad at me for last night - “ He made a small gesture with his hand, his thumb and index finger almost pressed together. “ - I’m trying to be as gentlemanly as possible to get a pretty good answer.” He grinned at her nonchalant expression. He knew that it would quickly change. “I mean, I didn’t ask you to be my girlfriend but I knew that you wouldn’t be able to resist a royal kiss. But that can’t ask for marriage now can it?”

She blinked, brows raised, eyes wide, and jaw hung open. “Wait...what?”

“If I were to kiss you a proposal, it would like trying to write the words your back.” He continued, ignoring the repetition of her confused question. But her hands cupping his face stopped his chatter. Her face was red, eyes slowly gathering water. Her voice was quiet, barely audible even to his own ears. “Did...Did you just…” She swallowed thickly. “Did you just propose to me?”

“Is there anyone else in the room?” At her surprised silence, his expression evolved into a soft, tender expression, one full of warmth and love - complete and utter adoration - for the one he had spent his life with, who knew him better than anyone else. “I want to do this right this time. I always knew I was far too lucky to even have you in my life, let alone have you fall for me like I did for you.But these past few months have taught me that you risked everything to keep Eos safe. You put aside your hatred for Niffelheim and saw Niffs as victims of the same war we fought. You put aside that to keep Lucis - to keep the people safe. I learnt that you are a Sicarius both inside and out. And there is no one else I believe to be able to handle pressure as well as you have shown.”

“Noct - “

He pressed a finger to her lips and then took her hands in his, holding them to his chest. “Anytime the question was on the tip of my tongue, I was heading to my deathbed. As dramatic as that would have been, I don’t think asking for your hand whilst I’m being swallowed by a question or stood in front of the Citadel’s steps, surrounded by daemons, would be a pleasant experience.” He lifted his head and pressed his lips to hers for a brief moment. “So, sweetheart, whatddya say?”

She smiled. “Airlea Caelum doesn’t have a good ring to it. But being married to you? That sure does sound like a dream. And if there’s one dream I’m gonna fulfill, it’s that one.” She blinked, allowing tears to flow freely down her cheeks.

With a gentle laugh, Noctis pulled her down to his chest. “Hey. Airlea?”

“Yeah?”

He tilted his head to kiss her temple. “Have I ever told you that I love you?”

“I do remember you telling me that last night. And when you woke up screaming at the spider sleeping next to you. And the day before that when I went to your meeting because you were puking and dying of a fever added onto that…”

He grinned. “Well, saying it again won’t hurt, right?”

“Just don’t say it in front of your son - he finds it most disturbing.”

“All the more reason for me to say it.”

#noctlea #noctlea fanfic #noctlea one shot #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x oc #noctis x airlea

13 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 6 years

Text

All I want for Christmas is You - Noctlea - 1st December ‘17

Because Christmas is my favourite time of the year, I wish to celebrate a Christmas countdown. Days with OCs also get an x reader later in the day. If any of you want to be tagged, don’t be afraid to let me know! It’s still open!

Thank you some good good friends of mine for pre-reading this back in August XD

WARNING: Set post - IUDV. If you have not read it but would like to, you do not have to read it first but it might make a difference. Hope you enjoy!

Song: All I want For Christmas - Mariah Carey

Tagging: @jojopitcher @bluefirefox23 @noboomoon @chocohoess @perimmaster @amicitonia

Words: 4,040.

Feedback would be greatly appreciated :)

Meet me in the gardens, next to the fountain, 6.30pm.

- Noctis

“Dad, please?”

Noctis looked to his son with a soft sigh. He had refused to lend his sword to Regis, and for a very good reason. It wasn’t exactly his – for it belonged to his father – and he didn’t really want that blade anywhere near his spawn until it was their time to take the throne.

But his son would not give in and it was a trait of Airlea’s he hated his child having. All he wanted was to rest for a little longer. But Regis? He didn’t want his dad to sleep at six in the morning if Gladio had woken him up to get him ready for school – which was later reported as closed due to the heavy snowfall during the night.

He groaned as he rolled onto his front, half through showing annoyance and half through hiding the scar that lingered upon his flesh. “There are many blades you can use. Why the one that tried to kill me?”

“Because apart from you...” He felt the bed dip, knees and hands trying to find the gap between his legs. “It’s the only thing we can find that was Grandpa’s.”

“Royal arms such as that one drains you.”

He felt the smaller body chuck itself down onto his back, head between his shoulder blades. “And the Ultima Blade doesn’t?”

“I haven’t used it in a few months and it’s not old enough. I wouldn’t have thought it would be classified as such yet...”

The momentary silence weighed heavy with thought. He half hoped Regis would settle for the less deadly –

“Nope. I want to use the one that nearly killed you – teach it a lesson.”

Noctis couldn’t help but chuckle at the way he spoke about the inanimate object – another trait of Airlea’s that he loved fondly – and he began to roll teasingly onto his back, smiling at how quickly the ten year old tried to escape. But he could not, for his father’s arms were quick to pull him into his grasp and smother him in a arm hug. “You’re mum won’t appreciate it.”

“If she finds out.”

“If... If is good.” He slipped the folded piece of paper under Airlea’s pillow. Undoubtedly she’d stick her hands under there when she would collapse on the bed to take a nap.

“What’s that for, dad?”

“Just a little message for your mum when she gets back later.” He gave Regis a quick pat as the boy stood. “Go on. I’ll meet you down there.”

“Thanks, Dad!” And away he ran.

The room was quiet now, dark except for the small lamp he had turned on to write the note before he forgot. Noctis stood then, the chill of the winter morning breaking the warmth of blankets and bed clothes, goose bumps forming up his arms, teeth lightly chattering and body gently shivering as he changed into his suit for who knows what ‘small’ meeting Gladio had called later in the day.

He looked out the window, face surrounded by dark curtains, and sighed gently at the streetlights. People who had already moved back into the city were starting to rebuild, some even risking their lives in the Boulove Mines to retrieve more stone from the old walls within – rebooting mining equipment with the help of what remained of the Crownsguard.

With the smallest of smiles he walked to the training room, sighing as he walked in. Regis was practicing his warping ability at this point, knife in hand as he tried. He grew more tired as Noct shut the large door, resulting in his grasp slipping. Noct was quick to act, warping to a pillar close enough to grab him before warping back to the floor again.

“Reckless aren’t you?”

“Get it from mum. At least that’s what Gladio said...”

“He wouldn’t be lying.” Noct sat on the floor with crossed legs, outstretching his arm to summon the blade of the father and then laying the blade across his legs. He hadn’t seen it since that day and he winced at the barely visible blood stain across the silver blade. It was still sharp and simply looking at it reminded him of the pain he felt. “Then again...” He tilted the blade in his hand: it was still well balanced. “I can be sometimes.”

There was a small silence. “How bad did it hurt? When it happened.”

Noctis had to force a small laugh. “About as bad as thirteen stab wounds to the chest could possibly be...” He looked down to the concerned look upon his son’s face. He knew he worried dreadfully about his recovery. “I’ll be alright.” And he smiled, ruffling the prince’s hair before giving his nose the smallest boop. “Just like your mum. You’re you are.”

Regis shot up then. “I want to be like you when I’m older: strong and brave.”

He hoped he didn’t want the depression part, but knowing that it ran through both sides of the family... Noct knew he wouldn’t be free. But, maybe, if they raised him in such a way where he could not feel like a burden, then it wouldn’t be so bad.

Noct laughed when he passed the blade to him, the effort needed to lift such a thing being too much.

“Dad, I think I need to start with wood...”

“So do I.”

The time had finally come... Noctis had decided to quickly pop into the bedroom, having heard that Airlea had returned a little early. And there she was, sprawled out on the bed in jeans and a jumper, shoes already off and socks neatly on her feet. Beside her was a dress, red in colour, as if she was in the middle of preparing herself when she fell asleep.

With he smile he sat on the edge of the bed, gently smoothing her hair and tucking strands behind her ear. He had no blanket but her arms around her. So he stood again and went into the wardrobe of clothes, fishing out his old jacket and draping it over her form. He checked at her phone, merely turning on the screen. She’d set an alarm and it was on five per cent. He also set it on charge. He quickly took his behemoth jacket and left so she could sleep in peace.

It had been weeks since he had seen her, and today was the day Noctis would finally be able to see his fiancé. The love of his life. She had been away on a meeting to Altissia, giving them rebuilding ideas and blueprints. Keeping herself busy was her way of saying ‘you rest, I’ll do the work...’

How considerate....

Truly, she was more than he deserved. Yet, she hadn’t changed a bit. It felt that way, at least. She was going out of her way to make sure that he wouldn’t over stress himself out to the point where his recovery would take a downhill turn, even though he felt as light as rain – the doctor said rest until the new year and she was determined to make sure of that.

Secretly though, he helped her out, planned her day so she also had time to relax, take some of the pressure off her shoulders. She did more than she needed to and, honestly, it hurt him to know that she barely slept at night. That he barely had a chance to speak her some days because of early mornings and late nights.

He just wanted to see her smile and laugh, look alive not dead inside.

He stood behind a nearby tree, taking a deep breath. Here he was in his suit and his behemoth king jacket for extra warmth – Ignis wanted him to put on an extra layer knowing he was susceptible to colds caused by the great Insomnian winter; Gladio agreed with Ignis on the matter, leaving Noctis no choice but to do so…

Really that jacket was the first thing he saw and he knew he looked stupid, but it was real warm now and he thanked the heavens for allowing no one but him to be here, in the garden, at nearly six thirty in the evening, hiding behind a tree.

Why is he hiding behind a tree you ask? Well the king here likes trees – actually he doesn’t know either.

Honestly? He was nervous as heck as well as being overly excited because, as I mentioned earlier, this would be the first time he’s really managed to get her to relax and talk to him for weeks on end (maybe even months). He wanted to see the smile that made the ocean calm, the turquoise in her eyes glisten like the waters in Altissia, wanted to see them be as clear as the sea at Galdin Quay.

He wanted to see the smile that made his heart flutter like it was his first time holding her hand, he wanted to kiss her and feel the electricity spark like it was their first kiss, he wanted to hold her and feel her heartbeat against his own and smile like it was the first time he could hold her as long as he wanted.

He wanted to hear her voice, the sweet voice that had him thinking ‘ why me’, the smirk in her tone that had him weak at the knees…

He wanted her to smile and be happy. Not unhappy and tired. Noctis hated it and he wished she would go to him and ask for help rather than take it all in stride. But he guessed, that’s what he loved most about her: her determination to just continue with life, even if it broke her heart. She’d continue. He never really notice it before, but now? It was clear. She had adapted well to whatever the past ten years had thrown at her: being a single parent, working four different jobs just to keep the money rolling in…

Part of him had wandered who she ran to when she needed a hug, when she just needed someone to cry on... But seeing her now? He guessed she didn’t, holding it all in until the day he returned and she saw him once again. Yet, somehow, she had managed to retain the casual wit and sarcasm that he felt like the others had lost... He wished he could just be there for her whilst she cried herself to sleep when times were really rough....

He begged, but the answer was no. Always a firm no. And no matter how many times he received that answer, every one stung more than the last.

He looked down at his phone again, receiving a text from Audacia – his sister in law to be – asking how long he’d be because ‘Regis wants help with homework and Airlea’s brain is confusing him’. Noctis couldn’t help but smile – his son was being just as impatient as himself. I don’t know, depends if she falls asleep in my warm hug or wants to go on a date. He put his phone back in his pocket, shuffling further into the gardens when he heard the light taps on the tiled path, the heavy sigh.

He poked his out from around the tree. Airlea was sat on the bench in front of the fountain now, her arms wrapped around her middle with one of his jackets upon her person, a crimson dress covering her tired body with thick, black tights and... trainers? Really? She sneezed to one side, and he smiled (she sneezed like a cute little puppy). Her hair was down, windswept from the breeze, and light puffs of white appeared as she breathed. She was cold, goosebumps trailing up her arms…

Noctis looked down to the floor then up again. She was tired, he could tell with the way she stared at the floor blankly.

To see her looking s dejected... made his heart break and chest ache.

It was now or never.

Noctis straightened his jackets and made his way to her, tripping over a tree root and falling to the floor, his palms now grazed as he braced himself for impact. He casually got back up and acted like nothing happened, sitting down beside her.

He thought for a moment and slid off his behemoth jacket, draping it upon her shoulders. He saw it then, the small, gently smile, the murmured ‘thank you’. He smiled, pressing the softest kiss to her cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him.

This moment had become a rare occurrence. It irked him to know that. And, truth be told, he knew that she had missed it. If the smile on her face didn’t show it, the way she cuddled into him did. She’d flopped down so her head was on his lap, her face tilted to the side so it was resting upon his tummy... She looked at him and Noctis saw the tender, apologetic gaze in her eyes.

But he smiled all the same, tentatively smoothing her hair over with his thumb lightly grazing her forehead as he did so, his other hand being lifted by one of hers, fingers entwining and thumbs gently massaging the back of their hands.

Noctis felt his smile widen, a laugh brewing in his throat when began to make the church out of their hands – “Here goes the roof, the front door, whatever the pinkies do and then – oi, co-operate with me, thank you – here are all the people inside.”

It was as if she was fighting off sleep.

Noctis found it cute, how she was just doing anything to keep herself awake, from playing with his fingers, to his hair, stubble, running her index finger down his nose to boop the tip, fluffing up his eyebrows only to smooth them over again. That was... oddly relaxing....

“You know, I knew I missed this, but I didn’t think it would be this much.” Airlea spoke, causing him to focus more on her than his eyebrows. She gave his cheeks a pat and then frowned. “You’re cold...”

“Not as cold as you, no doubt.” Noct smiled and sat her up on his lap so he could hold her to him and press a light kiss to her jaw. “I missed this, too.” He had missed her fingers in his hair, the gentle massages to his scalp and temples if he had a headache or couldn’t sleep. He missed her natural warmth and her ability to still give things a shot even if she was like an undead zombie (in other words, tired to the point where she was just... walking dead really).

And still she could crack the most gorgeous smile.

“How’s Regis doing?”

Noct furrowed his brows in thought, putting pieces together. “I think he’s doing okay. He doesn’t really tell me a lot though, not as open as you and definitely just as reserved as me.” He laughed a little. “Guess I know how my dad felt now. Ten years later...”

“Hey...” She rested her index beneath his chin and tilted his head to look up at her. She had a great kindness in her eye. “I feel your regret – I still have mine – but he loved you so much, even if you couldn’t see it. He understood that – pffft, he told me it ran in the royal line.” Noctis couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is that so?”

She nodded. “Even if you only just realised how reserved you were, you dad respected that and if he noted you were having a bad time, he’d be the one to smile. Because you always made him smile – even as you were departing you made him smile with that cute little smile of yours.”

“But... he looked so sad...”

“So did you believe it or not.” She smiled smugly. “He was sad not only because he knew his fate and your own, but because who was going to give him something to laugh at? Come on, Noct. You know he just laughed at your antics when you weren’t looking, right?”

Noctis rolled his eyes, trying to look unamused but failing to hide his smile. “Like father like son so they say.”

“You’re telling me.” She pressed her cheek against his own, sighing softly, fondly. “So, why’d you call me here?”

Noctis laughed. He’d forgotten about what he had planned, finding that spending time with her had caused him to be so lost in the moment that his mind just made him believe that he didn’t really need to do anything else. He smiled and stood, picking her up as he did so only to sit her down again.

And well... That’s when the nerves really kicked in. Because he had spent all week trying to remember the words that he just had this gut feeling that his mind would blank and he’d have to try and remember the tune before bursting into song. And then he’d be worried about how terrible he sounded because, to him, he sounded dreadful no matter how many people had told him he was good (unlike Airlea is told she is dreadful and she knows she’s dreadful – especially with high notes where her voices just breaks and screeches and... doesn’t bode well for anyone’s ears).

Just go for it.

“Give me just a minute.” He waited for her nod and then run further into the garden so he was both out of earshot and out of her vision.

And to say he was going to do one of the world’s most dangerous things you could do in the garden... was very true. If you guessed climb a tree, you guessed correctly. And he actually regretted it. A lot. Because it was very cold and slippery, but if he was to summon a small flame of fire, he’d burn the tree down. And, honestly, he wasn’t ready to pay the bill for burning down the Citadel and the whole of Insomnia.

He didn’t have the pocket (thanks to those Nifs tsk – didn’t they know he couldn’t ask his dad for a refund on giving him a broken city?).

Regardless he sat on a branch (whilst trying not to get stuck) and thought pretty dang hard upon where to start. But the beginning came into his head and he just... forget she was there and, well, sang away.

I don’t want a lot for Christmas There is just one thing I need Don’t care about the presents Underneath the Christmas tree I just want you for my own More than you will ever know Make my wish come true ~~ All I want... For Christmas Is....Yooooou, yeah

He warped back down to the edge of the garden, only a few meters in front of Airlea, and walked slowly whilst clicking his fingers to the tune, continuing his little sing song. He felt his nerves disappear, a smile spreading across his face as she joined in with the backing vocals, tapping the tune on her knees and getting really into it.

Soon enough he jumped closer to her and landed on both feet, quickly straightening his legs.

Oh, all the lights are shining so brightly everywhere And the sound of children’s laughter fills the air And everyone is singing I hear those sleigh bells ringing Oh Santa won’t you bring me the one I really need Can’t you please bring my baby to me

He took her hands and pulled her up, smiling as she stumbled and pressing a quick, sinful kiss to her lips when she fell into his chest. She was quick to regain herself despite the stumbling she continued to do with every step.

I don’t want a lot for Christmas This all I’m asking for I just want to see my baby Standing right outside my door

She squealed and Noct felt her fingers dig into his shoulders when he grasped her waist and lifted her quickly, high above his head. His eyes were alight with joy and hers were only momentarily full of fear before he slid her between his legs, the snow and icy layer beneath giving her good momentum. With his hands now crossed, he brought a leg over her so he now faced her direction, hands uncrossed, and lifted her effortlessly back onto her feet.

Oh I just want you here tonight Holding on to me so tight Make my wish come true Oh baby all I want for Christmas Is Yooooooooooooooooooooooo

She escaped his hold. How dare she? She wore a sly smile as she backed up, snow crunching beneath her feet, until her back was to the fountain. He tilted his head in curiosity and few moments passed as his eyes tried to register what she was doing…

Poof! She was in fits of giggles, his face now cold and a little sore. She shook his head, snow flying everywhere. He formed his own snowball, throwing one back at her – but she brought up a barrier, deflecting the missile.

Two can play that game. He raised his hand then. Bring magic into this fight? I’ll do the same. An he threw out his hand in front of him, a snow cloud forming quickly. Her barrier would only take so much until it wore out, and when it would, it would mean a dual. Oddly enough, he expected it to last longer than her barrier ended up doing and even as the snow fell she could summon her blade and charge towards him. He dodged quickly, laughing as he slipped and fell into the winter growth.

Noctis stood slowly, hands on his knees through laughter, and he raised his hand again for his own barrier to raise. Another roll, a parry, a couple of dodges, a jump attack, a side step in the air, another dodge, a warp to the far end of the garden.

He was barely out of breath, letting her do the swings in her competitive manner, as Airlea began to run to him. He was about ready to run for her when she warped to him. He was quicker and he raised his blade to her own and only when silver clashed against steel did he wrap an arm around her middle and turned around to lower his knee, her back against it.

He dipped her down low, his knee practically touching the floor as he grinned smugly. Her laughter and her smiling face echoed in his mind and he booped her nose gently before capturing her lips in a deep, heated kiss, standing her up as he did so and holding her tightly to his frame. The cold against his face from the bitter chill of the wind and snow melted as his heart fluttered, as he felt her own beat against his.

When she parted from him for air, he noted the amusement in her eyes, her breathless laughter. He tilted his head and rose a brow in confusion, only for her to run her thumb across his lips and then wetting a tissue in the fountain to remove whatever it is... He blinked upon seeing the crimson on the tissue... That damn red lipstick I swear to the gods....

He brought his hand to the back of his neck, cheeks flushed from both the cold and the embarrassment... Still, she removed it from herself, too, and walked to his chest, not even bothering to weave her arms around his middle.

Noctis chuckled and picked her up bridal style, allowing her a moment to get herself comfy. Now with the lipstick removed from her lips, he kissed her once more, softer and more affectionate that before, and he began to walk back into the Citadel, smiling to himself as she told him about the successful meetings.

Who knew, maybe his son didn’t need his help with homework after all? Otherwise it’d have to wait until morning (if you know what I mean); he could only hang on so long. And he knew Airlea was going to rile him up all the way back.

“Noct, all I want for Christmas is you.” And she winked at him.

She was definitely in for it now.

#christmas countdown 2017 #final fantasy xv christmas countdown #final fantasy xv #noctis lucis caelum #noctlea #final fantasy xv fanfiction

12 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 6 years

Text

Intra Unum Diem Vitae - Chapter 27

A Noctis fanfiction

Title Translation: One more day inside this life

Story summary: Even the greatest prophecy has an addition, much like the heart is connected to every artery and vein. This prophecy is no different. Every decision makes a different outcome. You read it wrong, you choose the wrong path, you’re lost. But choose it correctly, and you’ll get there. This is a story of consequences. A story of belonging and understanding. But, most importantly, it is a story of one more day inside this life.

Words: 3,576

Note: No idea what to say apart from gradual worsening with lack of motivation, and I went off the chapter list.

For any typos, I am very sorry! I have zero time to pre-read because of . homework and 2. christmas Drabbles. Sorry!

PLEASE COMMENT - Feedback is much appreciated and if you wanna tag anyone to get them started because you’ll think they’ll enjoy, that’s fine to do so, too! But please please comment. It would mean the world to me. If you want to stop being tagged lemme know! If you give feedback, please lemme know what you enjoyed in it! It’s more effective for me to want to keep going with this tale.

Also if you want to create anything for Noctlea, just do it and tag me! Because I’mma gonna tell ya now, I am Noctlea trash XD

Tagging: @chocohoess @cerasusazule @jojopitcher (hoping you feel better soon) @final-fantasy-xv-imagines @1000wolflover and @bluefirefox23! Thank you for any kind things you’ve told me about this fic. I really appreciate it!

The water caressed her cheeks, silk ghosting over her pale skin. Slowly. Softly. A mother caring for her child. Dying. Her child was dying. There was an impossible chance of survival. A lack of oxygen for over twenty seconds. It wasn’t going to work. No matter how she tried to sooth the burns or heal the wounds.

Elegant gowns ebbed down the deep corridors and passages, crystal gems glittering within the dim lights. The Queen’s song was a whisper, her ancient words, calm with tranquillity, barely heard. It was no ritual. Nor was it a sacred art. Merely a cry for peaceful aid. For her child to be cured.

Time didn’t pass. It was eternal: the present ever lasting.

Quotque in flore puer meus es (the blossoms bloom for you my child) unguentum serena, (perfume serene) tam iucundum (so pleasant) tam dulcis (so sweet)

The summer breeze eased through the stilling waters, caresses feeling like blades of grass beneath her feet, of soft petals rolling through her fingertips, feathers brushing over her forehead. Sylleblossoms held her high, an invisible field of magic keeping her a few metres higher, her fingertips barely touching the tips, sharp as a knife, soft as downing feathers.

Lumen ad sanitatum (it’s healing light) tam clara lucet (shines so bright) caelesti est (it is heavenly) et caelestibus (and celestial)

Light shone over her eyelids, yet they didn’t open. It was bright and warm, tendrils wrapping around her limbs. Her wounds were numb, the blood long gone from her system. Rays washed over her skin, wounds mending, blood retreating into her body, the damage rewinding.

Caelum autem munet, puer meus. (heaven awaits you, my child). Lucis expectat (Lucis awaits) Quia in die illo tui reditus: (for the day of your return:) Aduentum regis. (the king’s arrival.) Die veneris (the day that you’ll arrive) aurora sugit (the dawn arises)

A hands brushed over her forehead, voices faint above her. The mother’s caress was faint, silk dresses retreating. The late Queen’s last breath rang in her ears, the touch receading. A faint cry of her name rolled of a young prince’s tongue. Streams flowed steadily down her cheeks – her heart and stomach knotting, the numbing sensation fleeting.

Fatum tibi placuit. (your fate decided,) Vestri legumina (your pulse) tamen verberat. (still beats.) cor tuum tibi (your heart will) respirare (breathe)

Her breath was steady, her pulse serene, eyelids fluttering. The light grew brighter over her eyelids, a feather light touch – radiating a hopeful warmth, a frozen drop upon her cheek – tingling upon her lips. Her lungs emptied, and filled again. Her eyes began to open.

Alta ambulant (walk tall) Sicarius nocte (night’s Assassin)

Noctis sat against the wall, the door beside him closed, the bed in front of covered in healing supplies and wet clothes of his. Goosebumps climbed up his bare arms, both from the cold and from the shrill echoes of daemons and rogue Magitech experiments.

His cheeks were tight, eyes strained from drying tears. Within his arms, Airlea sat. Her body was limp, head lulled to one side. One of his arms supported whilst his free hand fumbled with his phone. For the fiftieth time, Ignis’ phone had gone to voicemail. He was running out of patience. It was very well not to look back at the past, but Noctis couldn’t stop himself from looking back. He never told her enough how much he cared. He never told anyone that. If no one looked back, how would they learn from their mistakes.

His fingers brushed strands of wet hair behind her ear, the backs of his knuckles slowly running down her cheeks and towards her fingers, the pads of his own grazing hers. “Don’t die on me, Airlea.” He pulled her close to his chest, trying to give her cold body the last ounce of warmth he held. “Don’t you dare die on me.” His fingers weaved through her hair, damp and course from salt waters.

“There’s still so much we need to do. I... I have so much I want to say to you and no one else.” His hand enveloped in hers. “You know that for your birthday you wanted to spend more time with me? Well, we can go to the lax near Saxham – you know, the one with all the carp.” He blinked repeated, eyes starting to flare up. “We don’t have to go fishing, but we could watch the sunrise, huddle underneath twenty blankets. Imagine the fish jumping within it’s amber sights.”

“Then we would go back to Insomnia – I’d take you to see the new sci-fi film, right? And dinner would be at the newly opened restaurant. And when we’d go to bed that night, I’d vow to be by your side. “ Noctis leaned his head back against the wall. “Dammit, I don’t want the last thing we did together to be an argument. Where a goodbye didn’t exist because both of us were too stubborn.” He brought his lips into his mouth for a brief second before releasing them again. His lips twisted and he swallowed thickly, his free hand wiping his nose, cold breath rushing down his cheeks and dispersing into water droplets upon her shoulder.

“It sounds weird – we’ve only been together for, what, two months or something? – and it feels like we’ve been this way for years.” Noctis brought his gaze to her face. “My dream when I realised my feelings for you last year was ... I’ve... I’ve loved you for a long time and ... Why the hell am I nervous now? It’s not like you can hear my beg for you to marry me, or see me looking like a love-drunk idiot.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “I love you, Airlea.” He rubbed the tip of his nose over hers before ever so slightly tilting his head. “I haven’t said that enough. So I... I want you to know that I do, love you. And I always will.” He allowed his lips to make contact with her chapped ones, salty either from his tears or the water he pulled her out from.

Noctis didn’t expect her breath to fan over his mouth, or her finger to find his. He didn’t expect to hear her voice again. “Noctis...”

It was weak, but it was good enough for him. “Shhh.” It was a whisper, a serene statement. “I’m here. Always will be.” He squeezed her hand for emphasis. “I’m right here.”

Her left hand, still cold from the water’s tide, cupped his cheek. He nuzzled into her touch. “I love you.” It was spoken through a quiet smile.

Noctis looked at her, his smile mirroring the tenderness of her own. His mouth hovered over hers, and his reply was a mere whisper, meant for her ears only. “I love you more.”

Ailea’s head rolled to one side, an arm weakly covering her mouth as she coughed. They became more violent, as if her lungs just wanted whatever water they had captured out. She was on her hands and knees, one hand clinging to her shirt, above her heart: chest pains were common with heavy coughing, especially when she had just ‘drowned’ and, theoretically speaking, was lifeless for who knows how long before he found her...

He was worried – of course he was; who wouldn’t be? He had almost lost her once before: it was the year her old man had passed – she was all over the place, going through the five stages of grief slowly. She was having mood swings every few weeks, possibly twice a month, three at most, one at least (it was difficult to remember, exactly how often) and it was painful. And he didn’t mean to stop talking to her during this time, but he was almost... terrified that she would break down again – he didn’t know what to do or how to deal with it. Even now he didn’t know where to begin. With the power of hindsight, he realised that to have her breakdown but to have him there for her, was better than to feel like she had no one.

He knew that Airlea had a lot on her plate: a little brother on the way, coursework deadlines, an umpteenth amount of essays due in within a week, trying to find ways to put food on the table. It wasn’t easy and he should have been there to support her.

It was a simple lack of miscommunication, and it was up his own father to try his best to reconcile them – a lesson I have learnt from my own lost friendships he had told him.

“Noct?”

The pained crack in Airlea’s voice, her throat most likely rubbed raw from her coughing fit, had him looking up from his lap to her eyes, which focused in on his own. “Have you found the others?”

“Gladio’s scouting ahead, chasing after Ignis. For a blind man, Specs still thinks he can be sneaky.”

Despite the comment, meant to ease the tension he had inadvertently created, Airlea took his face in her hands, moving it side to side slowly. “Your hurt.” Her eyes bore into his injuries, a hawk’s eye and a wolf’s intuition.

He shrugged it aside. “It doesn’t hurt.” His sentence finished with a grimace, her fingers finding a bruise upon his chest. It was under the skin, more so on the bone, but if it were to come up within a few days, he knew she would force him to get checked out.

“You were saying?” If looks could kill...

“Alright, if you stopped prodding it wouldn’t hurt”

“And then you’d be fighting and you’d get a pang of chest pain – who knows, it could be poison, a punctured lung. A heart attack even! Chest pains are chest pains and are worthy of anyone’s worry.” She went to his sides, then his back and continued her point sternly. “If you collapsed in battle because it, do you know what we’d think? Actually, we wouldn’t think anything; because we’d know you’d be as good as dead.”

“Airlea –“

“I’m not going to let you die because of your own stupidity and you know it.” With a sigh, she calmed herself, grounded her temper, and continued calmly despite the small hint of anger. “Can you still use items?” He pointed to the corner of the room – Gladio had found an assortment of items, both brought and picked up off the floor. There were many that were placed gently and in order of weaker to stronger. Noctis was honestly terrified with what she was going to do.

He stopped her from standing. “I’ll get them. You’re still woozy – overworking isn’t going to –“

“If I don’t work you’ll be one man short and more likely to get yourself killed. Now lay on one of the beds and I’ll help you out, alright?”

“You were dead for at least a couple of minutes!” Noctis refused to let her win. “For years for you’ve always done something for me, not giving me a chance to help you out unless you were unconscious.” His voice had rose – not a shout per se, but a warning that left no room for argument. “For Astrals sake, Airlea, don’t make me use my duty as the heir to Lucis to force you to rest until the others return.”

“You’re more damaged than I am. You rest.”

“Last I checked I didn’t have my lover do CPR on me to start my heart again.” Noctis stood and forced her to sit upon the firm bed, uncomfortable but better than a cold floor. “Besides,” He sat beside her, his back against the wall. “I don’t need a potion.” The prince brought her figure into his own. “I’ll be fine.”

Water ran down his face, his hair and clothes saturated. Noctis was panicking. He shook Airlea’s shoulders, as if that would help anything. Her clothes, too, were creased – jeans clamping to her legs, her shirt tight around her torso, the bright, tropical pattern of her bra peaking through the now thinning material of her vest. Her hair was matted, curled and speaking out the very term he didn’t want to hear...

Dead.

Her skin was cold, very little colour left upon her face – whether it was the last of blood circulation, or the lingering freezing temperatures, it was difficult to tell.

He, himself, shivered, shaking beyond belief. He had somehow managed to spot her form, the light simply breaking through the darkness of the water. Diving in to rescue her was the only thing that cropped into his mind, despite Gladio stating that he’d do it. The curt ‘she is my duty’ had the shield leaving him to it. Not that he would have had enough time to stop him anyway, for he had dived in only seconds after.

Part of him wished he hadn’t – seeing her lifeless, helpless, chest swollen from water filled lungs... it broke him apart bit by bit, ripped his soul to shreds piece by piece. To feel her cold skin, a bitterness to the warmth of her flesh against his own in Altissia, to have the idea that her voice would never bring him out of thoughts of helplessness again...

He’d already deemed himself almost irreparable: if the Astrals wanted him broken, if the God’s wanted him begging on his knees, they’d get it. “There’s too much worry of Magitech out here.” Gladio was quick to lift her over his shoulder. “There’s a break room three doors down. Even if it isn’t as safe as we’d hope, it’d keep them away from us for long enough to get her back.”

“If CPR doesn’t work we’ll try a phoenix down.” Ignis followed behind the gentle giant, a hand hovering behind Noct as a measure of comfort. “Trying has never caused us any harm.”

“I’d have to disagree: trying got her into this mess.”

The strategist, and fine diplomat in these situations, was quick on the case. “Now now, Gladio: you know she’d look at you with that glare and state it was the Chancellor. Then she would delve deeper and theorise it was the Astrals that put us here.” The door swung open and Noctis was relieved to see beds and her frame being placed on one of the mattresses. “If we didn’t try, Prompto would never be found, you would not have got over your temper tantrum, and Noct wouldn’t have considered diving into that cold water to get Airlea out of there.”

“Could all be for nothing.”

Noctis didn’t like where the conversation was heading and he looked at his hands – if he could only use curative magic, that would save them a lot of time. Then again, even if he had the ability to, whatever magical barrier that surrounded the place was inhibiting the ability.

“Or it could all be for everything. Personally, I am not one to run. I may be blind, my balance may be off and my motivation may be low, but I will never give in to hopelessness.“

He tied to think back to what little first aid he knew – chest compressions were handy but did she even have a pulse? With how hard his chest was beating, would he think she was alive because all he could feel was his own adrenaline? It was clear that Ignis was already finding his way, his foot falls light and swift. Noctis helped him along. “The longer we argue,” the advisor ran his hand down her arm and to her wrist, then to the pulse point on her neck. “The less likely we’re going to bring Airlea back to the real of the living.” Then he took Noctis fore-arm. “Noct, I’ll have to let you take over after a moment. You’ll need to be careful, the rib cage is fragile –“

“-And can break easily. I know. Airlea told me. So did my dad.”

“Well, then we’ll see if you can manage not to break anything.”

Fingers clicked in front of his face, the smell of even more canned soup brought the taste back t his taste-buds and he could feel the bile already preparing to heave. He waved his hand in front of his face and Gladio merely chuckled. “Hey, Iggy, Sleeping Beauty’s awake.”

Noctis simply ignored the joke and looked to the weight upon his lap. His fingers were absentmindedly carding through Airlea’s hair. Her face was nestled into his stomach, his jacket draped over her form and his t-shirt was slipped back onto his torso. The fabric was dry now, though the top layer of his jacket was still slightly damp.

“Sleeping nuisance may be who you were thinking off.” He cleared his throat, groggy as if he had a nap himself. “Pass me his breakfast and I’ll make a start.”

“Nu-uh.” Gladio retreated. “I’ll deal with it.”

The two started their bickering and back and fourth agreements once again. And, as Noctis had guessed, it was gently starting to drive him up the wall.

Still, Airlea curled further up to him. He tensed, not used to the tight grasp she had around his waist. He soon relaxed, figuring that the more he tensed the more likely she was to wake. He didn’t want that. She needed the rest, her under eyes a dark purple from the lack of sleep, her body needing all the rest it possibly could.

“If Prompto’s going to be in this keep, it’s gotta be at the top floor.” Gladio’s words were simply thoughts allowed, cup noodles in hand. “Izunia’s pretty melodramatic, why not add to it?”

“As much as having someone on the top floor as hostage symbolises power and a manipulative attitude, to have someone in a basement is very evil: torture tools, daemons, the very cry of death would be silenced.” Ignis’ reply was... morbid.

“He wants Prompto to be found. If someone wants their hostage to be found, it gonna be where they can be seen.”

“Alternatively, the basement makes you psychologically unsound and an easy target. It’s clear he targets all of us and only two haven’t been mentally scarred by him so far.”

“We don’t know that.”

“We soon will. And it isn’t going to be pretty.”

“You know that I’m sacrificing my sanity letting you go out alone.”

Airlea stood from her crouching position and turned to face the Prince. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Prompto could be in two places and it’s impossible to know which.” She shrugged. “Only makes sense to become a banana and split.”

Noct’s laugh was light, yet his shoulders were low and heavy with guilt. He pushed himself off the wall and approached her with two small steps. A hand took one of hers – the touch gentle and trusting. His other hand enveloped hers. “One day we’ll be a banana split and won’t see each other again.”

“Let’s hope it’s not this time.”

“I don’t know, Sicarius.” There was clear amusement in his tone, his lips quirked up into a smile. ”Last time we split, you didn’t end up in such a good place. In fact, every time we’ve split up you’ve ended up being worse for ware.”

Airlea’s short laugh came out as a breath. “That’s... pretty accurate, actually.” She looked at Noct, her eyes meeting his own, and she felt her cheeks and the tips of her ears warm, the feeling of sweat appearing on her back and forehead a common sign of embarrassment. His lips were upon her knuckles, then her fingertips before ghosting over the back of her hand and pressing a firm kiss to the pulse point on her wrist, which was pounding with how quickly her heart was beating.

“Don’t promise me you won’t get hurt, but promise me you’ll be okay. Promise me you’ll meet me outside the keep once you’ve scoured the basement. Promise me you’ll come back to me.”

“Noct –“

“I nearly lost you to a misunderstanding, I nearly lost you to a water breech, I nearly lost you to politics. I nearly lost you to my title. I don’t want it to happen.”

It was a piecrust promise – easily made and easily broken. “I promise.” Airlea freed her hand and ran the pads of her fingers beneath his fringe, across his hairline, down his temple and across his jaw line, stopping at his chin. “C’mere.”

His arms snaked around her waist, his face burying itself into the side of her neck, his breath warm and across her neck. “See you outside, right?”

Airlea nodded with a kind smile and pulled pack just enough to see the concern on his face. She kissed his brow, his nose and cheekbones, and then, finally, met his lips in a kiss that lasted a few seconds longer than entirely necessary. “You know what to do if I’m back by the following morning of your escape.”

“Here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that.”

Airlea smiled brightly, attempting to bring comfort, and gave his shoulder a pat. “Best not keep Prompto waiting. He might just be questioning your friendship.”

“Right.”

Once the Sicarius had been released from his grasp, she gave him a gentle shove, to which he looked at her from over his shoulder in a perplexed manner, and he was soon out of sight. And now her way forward was to only delve deeper in the unknown.

#noctlea #iudv #intra unum diem vitae #noctis x oc #noctis lucis caelum

10 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

Late Night get away

Based off the MMD image below, provided by @1000wolflover a few months back. First Noctlea thing written in a while so I’m hoping it’s still all good! Tagging: @jojopitcher @bluefirefox23 @honeybeelily @amicitonia @noboomoon and @1000wolflover

Word count: 1,324

The other image is at the bonus section XD

Darkness. Silence. Astrals knew that Airlea needed all of this: the tranquillity of midnight, staying well away from the petty arguing that Ignis didn’t help with. Gladio, do be quiet. Prompto, stop it. Noctis, nothing will stop Gladio from being annoyed at Prompto for – for the of god please stop it. For Pete’s sake stop it, Gladio!

For the intelligence and wisdom Ignis held, he certainly couldn’t use it wisely at the dead of night when focus was needed. Just in case.

Airlea had somehow managed to sneak out of camp, feeding her chocobo extra greens to buy her some time. The throbbing at her temples from the shouting and temper tantrums had managed to fade, becoming the softest of sensations. Her limbs were tired, calves burning and shoulders struggling to decide whether they were well or bruised from the battling of (and fleeing from) daemons.

A twig snapped underfoot and she flinched, breath hitching. When a shadow cast over her she, spun around quickly, head turning from side to side, eyes examining her surroundings quickly. When she was happy nothing was thing, she let out a small suspicious ‘huh’, and straightened. But when she tried to continue...

“Who are you here with?”

She rose a brow, trying to pinpoint the location. “My friends. I guess?”

“And they let you come out here?”

She laughed at that. “They didn’t have a choice with their childish arguing. Gods, it was a small pencil marking that could have easily been rubbed out in barely a second.” Airlea shrugged. “It was my own decision, but thanks for the concern.”

“How brave.”

She sighed. “Noctis, I know it’s you. And I swear to Ramuh, if you even think about –“

“Anything can happen in the woods. May I kiss you?”

“Noctis, please stop singing –“

“Any moment we could crushed.” Airlea felt his hands on her wrists, his breath in her ear. “Don’t feel rushed.”

An eye roll, the turn of her head to place a kiss on his chin. . “You’re a fool for following me, you know that?”

“Foolishness can happen in the woods.” He wore an innocent smile. “Once again please?” She shot him a nonplussed expression. “Let you hesitations be hushed. Any moment big or small, is a moment after all. Seize the moment skies may fall, any moment.”

“Honestly, Noctis. When one says ‘no’, they mean –“ Airlea’s calm lecture was forced into a hault. Noct’s gloved hand to a hold of her chin, tilting her face almost forcefully so she faced him. She swallowed thickly. “Noct...”

He was silent, dragging a finger up her jaw and tucking her hair behind her ear, his free arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her to him. At first, his breath was fanning across her skin, his eyes narrowed, mouth sewn shut in a frown. There was an intimidating air, something she had never experienced beside him... He looked away, as if holding eye contact was difficult, as if her widened eyes had triggered something... And he spoke. Quietly. Sincerely. “You promised you wouldn’t do this again.” He was upset with her. That was why he couldn’t look at her. “Last week, we were sat at the car park, overlooking the Duscae view. It was night. We were eating fish and chips that Iggy made to save money and to use the fish we had just caught. You were trying to find the northern star ‘to say hi to dad’ you said.”

Noctis held her tighter. “We joked about how our fathers would be talking about us, telling off all the nobles that died in Insomnia for not liking how we love each other. I mentioned my concern for you always wandering off at night, that I constantly feared waking up to the others not daring to look at me, conversing with each other through eye contact and an unbearable silence... And... you promised... you promised you would stop.”

When Noctis looked back up at her, she felt her heart break. Airlea didn’t know what to say that would make it better. She messed up. She knew that. “Noct, I –“ She took a deep breath and swallowed down her guilt. “I know... I know I’ve hurt you now. It just... Okay, I know this isn’t going to help but – Astrals how can I say this without making things worse?”

She sighed, slouching slightly and then straightening a moment later. “Thing is, I couldn’t stand being drawn into the argument again by with Gladio, Prompto or Ignis. The culprit wanting me to lecture the victim or visa versa, Ignis wanting me to help him stop it all together.” She, too, looked away. “I couldn’t think straight, my head felt like I was either going through an earthquake or like a pneumatic drill was just attacking my skull...”

Airlea looked down at her hand with a distant expression, allowing Noct’s fingers to entangle themselves with hers, his gloved hand lingering on her cheek, thumb running over her cheekbone. “You could have just told us. You know Prompto would forget the whole ordeal.”

“It would only make the tension heavier and bring even more negativity than necessary.” She looked back at his face, noting that his eyes were now making contact with hers. For a moment, she thought she was going to get it in the neck. Again. But, it never came.

“You call me a fool, but you can be so stupid and not think things through properly sometimes.” He ended up behind her, both arms around her waist, and pulled her into his chest. His body was warm in comparison to the chill of the night. “You give your chocobo extra greens, but it gulfs it down in thirty seconds and kwehs when it finds you gone, crying out for you like it’s either you mother or your baby.” His chin was on her shoulder. “You didn’t just worry me, but everyone else, too. Gladio was almost positive you went back to the Regalia despite the sounds of battle going on in this direction, so he went that way. The others are at camp in case you returned before us.”

“I should apologise to them all come morning, starting with my chocobo.” She sighed. “Noct, I –“

“Airlea, you’ve already explained yourself to me.” He tilted her face again. Their noses practically touched, breaths mingling and ghosting over the other’s lips. It was purely accidental that they were so close, yet his eye contact, barely blinking, did things to her mind that shouldn’t have been happening.

“Noct, um...” She cleared her throat. “You’re –“ She didn’t have much time to speak, for the Princes kiss was rough and ardent, tantalisingly slow yet passionate and heady, full of emotion and desperation.

Airlea knew that he wasn’t joking when he said he was concerned.

Bonus:

“Finally!” The couple broke apart, faces bright red with embarrassment at the deep timbre of the royal shield having made an appearance, the flash of a camera, the sigh of a strategist. “Guys, I found our missing friend. And I managed to see a snog.”

“’Kiss’ will do just fine, Gladio –“

“Ha! You may have seen it, big guy, but I caught it on camera and on film.” Prompto was triumphantly holding his camera up, eyes closed, mouth in a victorious smile, head tilted to one side smugly. “Can’t beat that, I’m afraid.”

“Prompto, Gladio, you’re arguing caused this mess. “Ignis kindly reminded the duo, letting go of a lead which kept a rather relieved chocobo at bay. The act alone caused the bird to sprint towards her, releasing a kweh of sincere gratitude and relief as it nestled it’s furry head into her neck, beckoning for a hug (which she kindly gave) and a good neck rub.

She honestly thought she would get ran over, dying in a humiliating way, after a humiliating situation, with her face still beet red.

#noctlea #Noctis Lucis Caelum #noctis x oc #noctis x airlea #Final Fantasy #final fantasy xv #final fantasy xv fanfiction

22 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 6 years

Text

Intra Unum Diem Vitae - Chapter 26

A Noctis fanfiction

Title Translation: One more day inside this life

Words: 3,493

Note: Creepy is not in my nature. Neither is trying to be Ardyn. So this one probably has zero entertainment ot interest in it tbh.

For any typos, I am very sorry! I have zero time to pre-read because of . homework and 2. christmas Drabbles. Sorry!

Also if you want to create anything for Noctlea, just do it and tag me! Because I’mma gonna tell ya now, I am Noctlea trash XD

It was cold. All Noct could do was shiver from beneath his bed clothes. Winter was settling in, the bitter chill that crept in through the slightly open window reminding him that this year’s winter was meant to be harsh. He wanted sleep yet his head wouldn’t slow down, numbers from his homework etching themselves into his brain, the words on the report barely sinking in, the voice of monotonous sorrow never leaving him.

His heart weighed heavily. He worried endlessly. It was as if Airlea... was fading away. The optimism that drove him forward was failing, the motivation she carried, the aspirations in life she had... lost... gone...

Sunk without a trace.

She stopped doing the homework. She had lost a months worth of work in the space of a week of grieving. And yet, the teachers didn’t care. Because the grievances of a young woman, with so much weight on her shoulders, didn’t matter anymore. It was a nuisance. And he wondered if that had caused Airlea to give up. The lack of support was horrendous, the lack of understanding and guidance.

She was being treated like she misbehaved in class. Detention after another for no reason other than what is only a natural reaction: grief.

He had heard nothing from her for a few days, her body fighting against a throat infection. He doubted she was in the right frame of mind. He wanted her to be able to cry it all out.

There was a loud knock on his apartment door. Noctis sighed deeply and stood, trudging over. With a simple swipe of the card, his door was unlocked and he opened it.

Arms wrapped around him tightly, petite body shaking, breaths at random intervals, shoulders stilling for a moment before shaking all over again. The hold got tighter. And he knew he had to bring her inside.

Noctis pulled her inside the apartment and closed the door. Airlea stood in front of him, the back of her wrist rubbing her eyes. He took the hand at her side gently, tenderly rubbing the back of her knuckles with his thumb. The surprised look upon her face, juxtaposing the rivers upon her cheeks, the pools within her eyes, the redness of her cheeks, was only greeted by his comforting sigh. His warm embrace. “Everyone’s leaving me, Noct.” Her voice was quiet. “Audacia’s gone for less than a week and now my... my mum she... she’s gone, too. No where. Just a note. A goodbye.” The tears began to return again, her voice breaking. “I...I couldn’t read it. I...” He let her collect herself. “Can you read it to me? I... I know that if I read it myself, I’d tear it to shreds after a sentence.” “Sure.” Noctis released her. Whilst she searched through her coat pocket, damp through melting snow, he locked the door and escorted her to the sofa, taking her coat once she had found the envelope, creased from being shoved into the space, and he hung it up. With ease, he opened the envelope and unfolded the piece of paper.

Airlea, I know that, in these past few weeks, I have not been treating you well. Gone are the days where I can blame hormones, and I will no longer use your father’s death as an excuse to beg for your forgiveness. I do not wish to be that parent, the mother that guilt trips their child into having their way.

I wish you to know that I am extremely proud of you. You have been through so much, your life nearly being taken twice at the tender age of eight, Crudelis leaving simply because of a disagreement with the King’s opinion, your father’s death, Audacia leaving... Both Noctis and you have helped eased the suffering of the Lucian people and it’s great King.

Contracting the starscourge is not only a plague upon my life, but upon yours and Audax’s. In the past month of fighting, I have learned that I can no longer hide the severity. With each passing day, my sensitivity to the light only grows. I look at you and all I feel is pain even though my memory of you is nought but a joy in my life. I have nightmares of myself fighting you, being one of the daemons that very nearly took your life eight years ago. And I...

I can no longer handle the idea of waking and fighting off the voices telling me to do it. You still hurt over Crudelis, your father, Audacia. I know. I sense that anxiety of everyone leaving you. Believe me, if I could I would stay to support you as best I can. But, with how quickly the infection has spread, and my body still weak from pregnancy, I would sooner be taken down by the monsters in Leide than survive another week like this... Than risk becoming a daemon.

Airlea, you are my shining star in this dark, corrupted world. There are tales I wish I could have told you but will never have the chance. Ambitions I know you will succeed in one day. A year in which I will fear for your life, but it is not this day. You have taught me how to live through pain and suffering, you have been my inspiration when your father has been away.

I can no longer be your teacher. I can no longer be a teacher to Audax. I must pass that mantle onto you even though you are not prepared, or ready, for the sudden increase of responsibility.

Please, continue to do your best. You are a kind, considerate person, so different from the reckless ten year old you were, or the moody toddler whenever your father left. I know that you will grow into a fine young woman. My biggest hope for you, as always, is that you will be happy; that, whatever your life may bring, it will be a painless suffering, that a cure will only be a name away...

I love you. So very, very much. With every waking moment I wish that I could stay, just one more day. To hear you joyously sing Christmas songs one more year. T o hear you laugh and to see you smile one last time... I wish that could leave with the image of the Airlea we all grew to love, yet I leave with the image of a heart broken by my own inexcusable and unpredictable behaviour...

I want to hug you one more time... But I know it will only cause you suffering.

I love you, sweetheart. Know that wheresoever you should go, I will be with you. Always. Across the horizon, within the stars.

Farewell, dear Airlea. May the fields of Sylleblossoms look kindly upon you, and may your journey be swift.

Noctis folded the piece of paper as he sat beside Airlea, placing it beside him as if it was a family heirloom. For years, the duo resembled a note with goodbye onto the paper, as a farewell. As a decades wait for a return that will never happen, as a lifetime searching only to come up with nothing.

Goodbye in a letter, was the hardest to take.

“Noctis?”

The Prince snaked an arm around her middle, his head resting comfortingly upon her shoulder. “Yeah?”

He sat up to look at her fully, to see her terrorstricken, anxiety filled eyes, speaking with depressed tones, staring into his own. Pleading. Her voice was quiet, broken. As if she knew the answer would be bad. “Don’t leave me.”

“I don’t plan on it.” He allowed her to nuzzle herself into his body, to collect any comfort she possibly could.

I love you.

“Noctis!”

Gone.

Lost.

Sunk without a trace.

In the deep dark river that claims us all.

Airlea spun round in the darkness. Voices echoed off the walls, the screams of death, the sound of fighting. She could sense the spiritual movements, the changes in direction. “The blade that rises is the blade that falls, The woodland that grows, the forest that rots, The sunrise that warms, the nightfall that chills, The petals that bloom, the blossom that falls.”

She didn’t listen to the accursed, frantically calling for Noctis.

“The Kingdom that yields, the daemons that rise. The nightmare comes, the daydream flies. The love that burns, the love that’s wise. The heir lives through the Oracle’s demise.

The Sicarius fights, yet she is lost. The chosen one tries to find his true love. The clone awaits for their prompt arrival, Yet their arrival seems to be too late.”

Airlea’s heart raced against her chest, the words ricocheting off the metal walls. She ran, following the lit up corridor. The walls were grey, all the same steel base with black adornments. It was plain, the sovereignty of military prowess. It was a prison. A prison in which no one came out alive.

Laughter and whispers echoed within her skull until she could hear her own pulse ringing in her ears, feel her lungs tighten as the paranoia of corruption began to settle and pierce her skin –

The lights went out and she crashed into the walls as she fumbled in the darkness, her feet dragging across the upturned tiles. Daemons roared from the catacombs of the science labs, the final cries of imperial soldiers sand in the harsh draft, to be forgotten about, their lives replaceable.

The floor began to warp beneath her heavy footfall, collapsing effortlessly. She felt her body hover for a brief second before gravity began to pull her down...

Her father was leaving. It would be the last she would see of him for six months at least. Any longer and he risked being killed, by beast or human no one knew. But the very idea of it shook her, chilled her to the bone. Airlea didn’t want to wake to her mother telling her of his demise. Her eyes were glued to the stairs outside the citadel, her feet never leaving her space from the door. Despite the summer heat wave, she felt cold. It was like she knew something was going to happen. It wasn’t a cold chill of the breeze, but an eerie one. One that shot straight to the bone and lingered as sweat bubbled upon the back of her neck, protected by the length of thick hair that ended at the top of her dress, situated just below her shoulder blades.

She donned a summer dress, her arms bare apart from the thin straps upon her shoulders. A red mark, the sun’s very own mark to her sensitive skin, a lecture for being out for too long in the summer sun, without a single ounce of sun protection upon anywhere but her face and arms, contemplating where her studies were going to take her, what backup plans they were going to lay down...

Her skin was littered with uncovered freckles, a mole on the centre edge of her left shoulder blade. Scars, now barely visible, still resided upon her skin, yet they were still raw within her soul.

Noct was stood beside her with black jeans and a white t-shirt, black sneakers and two ice cream cones in hand. Sweat covered his brow, yet still he adorned a grin. “Got your ice cream.” She heard the smile fall. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” It was as if she didn’t hear him, her concerns and fears deafening her. Yet, she caught the sound of sighs and shuffling and surprise. And then a cool hand upon her shoulder jerked her from her thoughts. “Airlea?”

“Hm?” She looked up at Noctis, who was stood in front of her. To his right, Prompto stood, two ice creams in hand.

“You going to say goodbye?”

“To say goodbye is to lose your hopes and dreams. To say Farewell, is to lose those you love. To say Until next time, and anything like it, is to be hopeful of a return that will never happen.” She inhaled deeply, and exhaled just the same. “I would but... I fear the worst will happen. I wasn’t going to come, with how tense those two are and all.” She spoke of both their father’s, having been constantly at each other’s throats. “Unfortunately, I’d feel just as ashamed not being here as I would be seeing him off. I just wanted it to be a laugh I heard last, not an argument over something as pointless as a bloody – “ Airlea stopped herself “You know what? I can’t stay. I’m pulling my hair out listening to those five year olds. I’ll be in the archives if you need me.”

She left quickly, flats clopping upon the smooth flooring.

Noctis stood outside the door to the Archives. He could hear the rustling of paper, the small, soft mumbles of Airlea trying to remember what shelf had all the ‘Mystic Caelum’s Mystic stuff, the complaint at it being at the top. She wasn’t tall enough to get that. She was five foot four, and the shelf was another ten inches. She’d die if she tried.

He gently knocked, letting himself be known, and poked his head into the room. “Does the special girl need help?”

“If your flirting with me, then you need to try harder.” She soon laughed at his expense, his face reddening. It wasn’t at all the intention. Just... trying to give a compliment. “Thanks. This box, newly sorted, needs to go on the top shelf. And then can you get the box next to it –“

Noctis strode in and took the box as she talked. “Nuh-uh. No can do.” He strained at the effort of putting it back up, his knees on the table in front of the shelves. Once it safely up, he slid off the desk and smiled. “Me and Prompto are taking you out.”

A smug grin appeared on her fearures, her arms crossed, butt perched upon the desk with her shins crossing.“A threeway date, huh.”

“What? No.” His face scrunched up in disgust. “We saw you were at least a tiny bit upset and we thought just having one of those good old fashioned sleepovers would do you a world of good.”

She smiled. “Thanks. You two want to help me pack?”

“Hell yeah. Also, Prompto ate your icecream. A glaive stole mine.”

“Probably Nyx then.”

“Who?”

The deadpan expression. “You know, the guy who might as well be related to Gladio?” Noct blinked. She sighed. “The one all the girls like?” A head tilt. “The one from Galahad or whatever that place is?” He furrowed his brows and then, the light switch.

“Oh! I know who he is now.” He tilted his head again. “How do you know him?”

“Hashtag related from a few centuries ago. Unfortunately. At least, that’s the rumour.” She shrugged. “Honestly though I don’t know him. Just know of his existence. He’s everywhere. Like, your old man may have just sent him to keep an eye on me for all I know. Hopefully not though, that’s creepy.”

“Why don’t you ask Dratos?”

“The head of the glaive? The head honcho of it? That intimidating man who just has something about him?” Noctis nodded, letting her know that was, indeed, the man he was on about. But something around her grew heavy. A burden of some kind. Her body stiffened for a brief moment, but it relaxed within the blink of an eye, any remains of it hidden behind her distant gaze.

“Nah.” She shook her head. “Don’t trust him. Don’t know why, but there’s just something that doesn’t feel, or sit, right. And I don’t know what it is. I don’t even want to know. Especially if it could leave to Eos destruction.” She stood from the desk. “Anyways, whatever my father’s up to is clearly known of my business if it’s so classified that your old man has to keep an eye on me. And it’s oh so clear that our dads hate each other.”

“Your dad’s just as asshole right now.”

“You can say that again.” She sighed, her gaze on the floor. For a brief moment, he noted the minuscule shaking of her legs, of her smile lines. And she looked up. “Noct?” He hummed in acknowledgment. “I have a question.”

“Shoot me with it.”

Her face grew warm. “Can I... I mean, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to but.... can... can I hug you?” “No need to ask, you dodo.” Noctis caught her humoured grin.

A shadow flickered behind her, it’s skeletal claws reaching out –

Airlea spun on her heel, a loud screech of panic erupting form her throat at the MT, armed and ready for war. She had nothing but her fists and feet. She was trapped between it and the corner, her back hitting the cold war.

It was now her throat constricted on itself, her breathing hard and difficult. Her lungs were empty and not enough oxygen could get to them.

“The shield protects, the advisor blind. The Astrals awake, the treaty is signed. The sacrificed dine, the gods seem to kind. But one is denied, none appear to mind.”

She ducked an attack and ran as fast as she possibly, calling out the names of her friends.

“Your calls prove useless, no one is coming. Your heart was once fixed, now it is breaking. Your voice calls for him, the songs lies unheard. Liberty vanquished, Hope blackened.”

Airlea stopped in her tracks, Ardyn stood in front of her, a beaming smile upon his daemonic features. It was crooked, amber irises giving way to undead possession, his malice hiding the torture and suffering of his soul. “I had hoped to catch the Prince himself into my little home.”

“I think you’ll find ‘trap’ is a better term.”

“No, home will do just fine.” His smile became nostalgic. “Being locked in a small room on an island off the coast of Lucis for two thousand years, fighting between your two bodies over what is right or wrong, over whether to befriend or kill... My life was stolen from me by the crystal, much like your own.”

“Much like everyone else’s, actually.”

“I wish to help you. You tell me where your precious boyfriend is, or your friends will die.”

Airlea tilted her head, gaze stern and steady. “I’m not going to fall for your tricks this time. I’m not ten.” She inclined her head, emphasising her point. “You know where he is. You manipulate images and passages to pass us to areas you want us to be in.”

His lips were pursed. “Look who’s got a brain to go with that pretty face. What would happen if I just... maimed it. Would he still love you? Would he hate you? Would he... look at you in disgust? Perhaps feel ashamed of choosing you.”

Airlea stood her ground, the start of her first word overlapping his last. “If you think I’m not going to go through with my duty you must so lowly of the Sicarius family.”

“Your family betrayed me.”

“And you betrayed yourself. You betrayed the people. They did not want their King to be a tyrant, and yet, in your very own words, you wanted that crystal. You wanted to be the chosen: afterall, one starscourge wasn’t enough for you was it?”

“Very good, Airlea. Your historical intellect amazes me. You Sicarius’ were always... vacuous.”

“From as far back as Lucis’ creation, we’ve studied. We’ve kept manuscripts. Just so happens ones on you were scattered, incomplete and barely legible, deep underground, in mazes deep.”

“I’m flattered.”

Airlea laughed dryly, but her tone was low and strict. “You’re not going to stop me from dying for him, Izunia. You’ve played your cards. Let me play me.”

“Oh, most certainly. But first, let’s play a game: get to the crystal before me, you will be left alone until the chosen return. If I get there first, it’s game over – everyone you care about will suffer.” His grin was sharp and wide, full of mischief and knowledge.

Airlea scowled and scoffed. No one threatened her unless they wanted to die. “Go to hell, Izunia.”

He looked away, gazing at the photo of a happy family, her family, in his hand. “For someone as ingenious as you, you’re forgetting one simple thing:” He crushed it and jerked his head towards her. “I’m already there.”

The crumbled beneath her feet, her body landing in freezing cold temperatures. “He isn’t going to know where you are. I’ll break their hearts. Make them suffer. Imagine what his face would be when he hears that his beloved is gone. Lost. Sunk without a trace.” The room blackened, the water’s current possessed by his soul. “In the deep, dark river that claims us all.”

Airlea had no time to fight the wave that towered over her.

#intra unum diem vitae #noctlea #noctis x oc

8 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

Intra Unum Diem Vitae - Chapter 23

A Noctis fanfiction

Title Translation: One more day inside this life

Words: 4, 717 (have fun XD)

Note: Good God almighty. ‘It’s gonna be bumpy ride’. I hope.

For any typos, I am very sorry! I have zero time to pre-read because of . homework and 2. christmas Drabbles. Sorry!

Also if you want to create anything for Noctlea, just do it and tag me! Because I’mma gonna tell ya now, I am Noctlea trash XD

Tagging: @chocohoess @cerasusazule @jojopitcher @final-fantasy-xv-imagines @1000wolflover and @bluefirefox23! Thank you for any kind things you’ve told me about this fic. I really appreciate it!

It all happened so quickly. The plan had been laid, his friends leaving to go about their own, individual process of the evac mission. Everything was... good. As good as it could be when he had to go face to face with a giant sea serpent (who probably hated him) and when he couldn’t see where his girlfriend was.

He hated not knowing if she was safe. She had been injured on multiple occasions (though they never amounted to anything other than a frustrated sigh from Ignis and a ‘why is it always me’ from her own mouth), all when he couldn’t see her. When he wasn’t there. When she was just... not looking at her surroundings, or paying much attention.

So that was when he took the split second decision.

“Prompto.” It was a calm tone, which caused the gunman to turn with a smile. “Yeah, dude?”

Noctis rested a hand on Prompto’s shoulders. “Today... Today will either go one or two ways. I’m hoping it’ll go... well enough that no one is hurt. But the chances of that are low.” He paused, looked away to gather his thoughts, to compile his swimming thoughts, and then continued, slowly looking back at Prompto as he did so. “If anything happens today, which it will, and if anything happens to me, I want you to take care of Airlea.”

“M-Me?” The surprise was somewhat amusing, and either understandable or shockingly... unexpected. He knew Prompto didn’t feel trusted enough, or like he belonged. He knew the anxiety, strong-willed friend doubted himself constantly. But honestly? Noctis trusted Prompto with his life.

“Yeah.” The Prince chuckled. “I trust you. She trusts you. I know you’ll do right by her, even if it’s the hardest choice you’ll have to make.”

“Then...” Prompto nodded with determination. “I’ll do everything I can to see her safe.”

Airlea was quick to scour the field with her eyes. MTs covered the area. There were three patrols of six to the left of the plaza, another two on the right. There was a good chance she’d get caught and killed on the spot if she just got a single second out of time, if she so much as tripped... Noctis was in the centre, surrounded by five stationary MT Assassins – if she got on their badside, she’d be a one hit wonder.

To her left was an alleyway. As far as she could tell, no one was there, and, if she remembered correctly, it came out at a T junction. From there, she could climb a ladder (or drainpipe) up the wall, pull the trooper on the roof down, get onto the roof, throw a smoke grenade across the way, and cause a distraction so she could get to Noctis.

But the smoke would damage the signal for Audacia. And Prompto’s rescue. But, if she wired an explosive on the roof and detonated it when she got to Noctis...

She had to rethink.... The roof gave a perfect opportunity to jump to the top of the stairs. She could arm it for the most part on the roof and then connect it to the detonator once she had put it place. It was risky, but it also meant a good chunk of the patrols would be taken out...

“Got any explosives on you?”

“Airlea, what the hell?” Audacia scoffed. “You’ll blow yourself up.”

“Look, I throw a smoke grenade to distract the guards around Noctis so I can get to him. With the explosive I would have wired up to the stairs to the left once I’m with him – that would signal you and Prompto.”

“Prompto, you think it sounds good?”

The blonde already had the equipment. “I’ll wire it all up. During the smoke attack, I’ll run to you, give you the device, and as we’re running you press the button.”

“An even better idea. But you’re gonna have to be quick.”

“I can do this in thirty seconds tops.”

Airlea blinked in silence, clearly showing her lack of confidence. But he looked confident himself; who was she to destroy it? If anyone were to do that, it would be Ardyn himself. And she really didn’t want to be in the vicinity when it happened – Astrals know that she’d want to kill, that she’d be damaged. “Alright, let’s give it a shot, Prom.”

It felt like forever. Sneaking wasn’t exactly her strong suit – she never got a chance to train in the art of stealth – but it was certainly something she knew she’s improve on in the next few years. Hopefully. Possibly. Probably. Maybe?

Hiding behind a pillar, waiting for the patrol to move was taxing, and a rifleman was only getting closer. And closer. And closer.

It became a game of improvisation.

With a swish of her wrist, an arrow was summoned within her hand. And with a flick, it was sent into the rifleman’s chest. But now the patrol was almost upon her. So she had to play the game once more. With another thought, the smoke grenade was in her hand. She pulled out the pin and threw it to the alley behind the bomb. “Sorry, Prompto.”

As soon as it went off, she ran to the centre, throwing another three to cover all bases, and nearly running into Prompto himself as he, too, ran. She coughed and spluttered, vision impaired, and only her feet stumbling over a kneecap signified that she had found the Prince before the smoke disappeared. She knelt down on the floor, checked his wrists and neck for a pulse. Then she hovered her ear over his mouth to check he was breathing. Sure enough, he good in both departments, even if his pulse was weaker than anyone hoped.

“Airlea, we have ten seconds to –“

“Then hold my arm, hold your breath and don’t open your eyes. With her left, she held Noctis tightly to her side, her blade appearing in her right hand, and as soon as Prompto grabbed her waist (she figured it was for ease), she threw the blade and warped to the roof above the plaza.

Once they were safely stood, she tapped Prompto’s hand and, once he let go, Airlea set Noctis down onto the floor. Were it under a different circumstance (preferably one that meant he wasn’t hurt) she would have thought that he was cute, but when it comes to a possible life or death situation, he wasn’t cute: he was... hurt. And that was all she could see whenever she looked at him. Hurt. Pain. The knowledge that Luna was... gone. It did no one any favours to linger on what could have been and the what if’s of the situation.

All Airlea could see on Noct’s otherwise emotionless expression, was pain, grief... anguish. All she could do, was to run her fingertips over his forehead, beneath his hair, in silence. Even when Prompto handed her the detonator, all she could do was remain silent.

As the smoke began to dissipate, she attempted to push the button.... Nothing. She looked the device over... Broken. She threw it aside and held out her hand. “Gun, please.”

“Wha –“

“Gun.” Her tone left no room for arguing. “Please.” Once she had it in her hand – “Fudging hell, I’m done with this bloody shit.” Around them was the sound of more MTs, the commands of one – tell them to halt – whom she had no business with and honestly wanted dead more than she wanted Ardyn to be at this point.

“Sister, I see you’re trying to escape with our property.” A laugh that chilled her to the bone. “Would you kindly give the ‘Prince’ of Lucis, or what’s going to be left it in ten years, to us?” She didn’t so much as move a muscle. “Airlea, I knew you were stubborn but I don’t remember you ever going against an elders order.”

“I never went against the King’s orders. Everyone else? I couldn’t care less about their orders if they were wrong.” She stood and turned to face him. “Especially yours.” The gun was behind her back.

He scowled. “That’s not how you treat your brother –“

She pointed it steadily at his face, right between his eyes “You are no brother of mine, Crudelis.”

The Imperial general feigned hurt, his hand over his heart. “Please, forgive mate. I didn’t mean it.”

All they heard from her was a dry, emotionless laugh that could drain the soul from anyone. “Have fun in hell, Crudelis.” She pointed it at the explosive just behind him, lowered the safety and pulled the trigger.

“You missed your mark, Sister!”

“Or did I?” She sharply gave the pistol to Prompto and turned her back. Airlea knelt and gently pulled Noctis up and onto her shoulder. The explosion occurred just as she began to descend down the stairs on the back of the building.

The sound of the horn echoed around her, the speech that Audacia must have painstakingly practiced ricocheted off the walls. The cries of agreement, the sound of shields attacking the stone floor, makeshift armour jangling with the arm movements, the battle cry of the militia, fighting for freedom against the Empire...

Men. Women. You all gather here today to fight for your freedom against the Empire’s grasp. You fight for the freedom of your children, of their children. The freedom of many generations to come. You may not be trained, you may be a veteran to the war even before Prince Noctis was born. Yet I see the fear in your eyes, the terror of going against MTs, the daemons that killed your families in Lucis, in Insomnia, caged in a body of human form, tainted and not given a chance to live the life you have! The life you have given your children! The life they give their children! I fight for my sister, for my Grandpa, for my father, for my mother, for King Regis, for Prince Noctis. I fight for Lucis. One day there will be no Lucis. But it is not this day. This day Lucis fights back. On this day, Altissia fights back. On this day, Niffelheim’s slaves fight back. On this day, we fight back.

The sun shone into the Prince’s room. Airlea placed his breakfast onto the bedside table and started to undrawn his curtains. It was far more tedious than it should have been, the countless amount of stitching rendering most of her reach useless, he steps being sluggish. Her head hurt, her eyes strained from the lack of sleep. Somedays, it was hard to move. She may have been recovering quickly, but it didn’t feel that way despite the magic her grandpa had been able to use to cure most of her ailments and infections.

Once her eyes had adjusted to the blinding light of sunrise, she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Insomnia cast in the warmth of the golden and reddish hues of the early morning. Airlea didn’t realise how much it meant to her until now, the thirtieth of August. She was so mesmerised that not even the sound of the door opening turned her attention away.

“Airlea.” The stern yet gentle tone, belonged to no one but the King.

“Yes, you Majesty?” She turned her head then, and caught a glimpse of a smile. But she did not smile back. So, his fell.

His approach was gently, barely a click of his heels on the floor. “You doctor and head chef have deemed it necessary that I force you to rest.” He looked out at the view, his hand clasped behind his back. “I think they’re right.”

“There is no need for you to worry for anyone but Noctis, Sire.” Airlea left the window and limped to Noct’s bed side, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead.

“I worry for both of you, Lea.” He followed and made her sit on the edge of the bed. He knelt down in front of her. “I made a promise to your father many years ago, when your mother was pregnant with you, that I’d look after you when he wasn’t here to do so.”

“What does this have to do with the daemon attack?”

There was a moment of silence as he enveloped her hands with his own. “I wasn’t able to uphold that promise. Not only to Noct’s mother, but to your father. He doesn’t forgive me. He won’t forgive me until you are well.”

Airlea looked him in the eyes confidently, but the sheen of mental exhaustion, the gloss of pain, swept it aside momentarily, a lump catching in her throat. “My dad doesn’t understand that I wasn’t the only one hurt, or even cursed by the Astrals...”

There was a small laugh. “He does, but he needs time. He left for duty early this morning, told me to apologise to you on his behalf for not saying goodbye.”

She shook her head. “I’ll ask mum to call him for me on that.” Truth be told, knowing that the friendship had gone sour between the two worried her. “Did he say goodbye to you?”

Regis looked to one side, and Airlea knew that meant ‘no’ before he opened his mouth. In that moment, she didn’t care less about protocol. To see the King, someone she looked up to, hurt by her own father and his best friend, angered her. It pained her. Airlea did the first thing that came to her head: she hugged him. She hugged him because she wanted to ease the pain her father had caused. It took her a second to figure out what she had done, and she froze with both embarrassment and fear. But... there was nothing to fear. He wasn’t scary or as angered as people believed. He was almost a second father to her, and she cared for him as one. He had only showed her kindness. So, when he hugged her back, she relaxed greatly.

“Eight years old and thinking like a fifteen year old.” Regis’ words carried both affection and concern. “I won’t make you rest, but you will be staying with Noctis today, you hear?”

“Okay.” She released him and offered him a smile. “I’ll do that. I’ll give him some fresh air and –“

“This is to stop you from hurting yourself more than you are already.” Regis smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder, then past her to Noctis, who had shifted and let out a small mumble as he threw his arm over his eyes. And the King’s smile only grew. “Good morning, Son.” Airlea shifted and stood so he could sit.

“Mornin’, Dad.” Regis moved Noct’s arm slightly and kissed his forehead, which only caused the Prince to pout. “Daaad... I’m not five.”

“Says the boy who still loves me reading him stories.” He laughed at the redness on Noct’s cheeks. “I wanted to at least wish you a good day before my meeting – the council refuse to let me stay with you – but Airlea will be here. So if you need anything, she’ll be here.”

“I know, Dad.” He grinned. “She always is.”

Airlea felt her lips quirk in an embarrassed smile, her face reddening ever so slightly when both Caelum’s looked at her with their gratitude. “I-It’s nothing. I-I mean, that’s what friends are for. Right?”

“Definitely.” Regis laughed. “Well, don’t hurt yourself. Remember, I promised your father you’ll be okay without his clinging.”

“I’ll try, but if Noctis wants me to carry him to the bathroom when he’s desperate, I will.”

By this point, Regis was at the door, his head the only thing that remained in the room. “Noctis, if you need the bathroom tell her before your desperate.”

“Dad, I’ll be fine. Have a good day.”

“No day is good if I can’t see if you’re doing alright, Noct. Try not to get yourself into trouble. At least try to eat your carrots.” With that the door closed, and the two eight year olds laughed.

Airlea walked over to Noctis and sat him up before she sat on the bed, crossed-legged, next to him and gave him his breakfast. “Have you eaten, Airlea?”

“No. I’m not going to eat your hashbrown. At least eat half of it.” She smiled. “But yes. I have. Head chef was about to take my breakfast up when I went to ask if I can help with yours, so I ate down there.”

Noctis nodded as he delved into his food. “Airlea?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we sit in the garden today? It’s more shaded so we can be cooler.”

“Of course. But I’m not going to carry you through the vent again.”

He pouted. “You’re too smart.”

“You’ll thank me for it in High School.”

She couldn’t sleep that night through fear of having the whole day forge a night terror, inhibiting her from having a peaceful sleep to ease through the waiting process. Ignis... had lose his vision. She hoped it would be temporarily. Prompto was the only smiley face, and even then it was forced. She apologised for her behaviour that afternoon, and he simply smiled at her in understanding.

Audacia returned with a few scraps, the majority of the militia still alive. With her, her Grandfather returned. His cloak with tattered and his joints were aching, but he was uninjured. Perhaps he fought off the MTs with his magic.

A separate group had gone off in search of Luna. With no sign of her, it was assumed she was dead. Airlea knew she was dead. She saw it all happen as she fought Crudelis, as she struggled to stay above water. As she struggled to stay away from the onslaught of the battle between Leviathan and Noctis. If it wasn’t for Prompto, she would be dead. Or worse off.

“Crudelis and the rest of the Army are going off to Niffelheim. Want me to follow?” Airlea didn’t listen fully. “Airlea?” Still, she didn’t reply, her gaze set to her plate of pasta which was left untouched. She wasn’t hungry. “Airlea, Luna –“

“I don’t care about Luna being dead.” Her statement was harsh. “I care about their being no Oracle to keep the darkness at bay.” The atmosphere grew heavier as people glared at her. And her anger only grew, the grasp of the almost empty glass in her hand tight, her voice speaking through clenched teeth, her heart racing frantically. “She hurt Noctis. Ardyn hurt Noctis. And what was I doing? Drowning.”

“Airlea –“

“I was fucking drowning because of Mother’s worthless son! The son of a murderer!” She knew her voice was only getting louder, her eyes only burning. “I could have stopped Ardyn! I could have stopped Noctis from getting hurt if Crudelis just –“

“Airlea, calm –“

“I’m not going to calm down when the one person who can fucking stop this is fighting for his life.” She forgot she held the glass. She forgot it as she slammed it down onto the table, the glass shattering like her temper, every shard of glass that impaled her skin, that dusted over the table, that littered the floor, was every ounce of composure she had. The crystal shards was every shit she had left to give.

The council was right. She should have stayed in Insomnia. She should have died there. She should have died at Tennebrae. She should have died in the Daemon attack. But she didn’t. Because all she was, was a curse. All she was, was the Astral’s bargaining chip. And they didn’t care.

“Ignis, careful. Airlea’s unhinged.”

“Un-fucking-hinged?” Gladio tipped the scales. And she was just about ready to snap like a twig underfoot. “If I stayed in Insomnia and died, none of this would have happened.”

“Airlea, you shouldn’t wish your life away like that.”

“Gladio, you should have kept your trap shut.” Audacia rose her voice.

“Why should I, Audacia?” He was still calm. “I’m doing my job.”

“You failed that job when you pissed off at Caem. ‘Personal’ you claimed this thing to be.” She laughed. “Personal doesn’t mean fixing your pride because of a stupid reputation!”

“And personal doesn’t mean you get to yell at us at the top of your lungs!”

“When Noctis wakes up in a state and cries over the fact he could have saved Luna if he wasn’t compromised, would you say the same thing? Would you wave his grief aside?”

“No.”

“On the inside, maybe.” If Airlea’s eyes hadn’t already began to water, they did now. Badly. She struggled to see through blurred vision, her throat felt like sandpaper whenever she spoke, her voice breaking like her soul, like the glass underfoot. Like the heart within her chest. “You have no idea how much I blame myself.”

“I think you’ll find, I do.”

“I think you’ll find, you really, really, really don’t.” She grasped his vest and pulled him down to her height forcefully. “Stop acting like you give a shit about me.”

She let go of him then and ran her bloodied hand through her hair as she paced the dining room. She shook. Her hands shook, her legs shook. If she were to stand still she felt like she would fall. She saw Gladio reach out for her and she smacked his hand aside. She walked away from her grandpa, from Audacia, from Prompto... From Ignis. “Don’t try to help me... I’m a lost cause.” She was quiet now. As if she wanted to be lose. “Let me get lost. Let yourselves forget about me... I’m not needed here. You guys... You’ll help Noctis. Right?”

Ignis was the first to speak. The first to reach out to her. She admired the bravery he had and held out her hand to help him find her. When he took her wrist, his hand trailed up her arm to her shoulder. And there, the grasp was comforting. “Not without you.” He was kind, calm. Not at all quick to judge. “Noct will be just as blind without you, as I am now.”

“You and Noctis are the relationship I dreamed of as a kid.” Prompto was next to approach her with a smile. “You may not know it, but you’re his motivation to do things – the idea of having a future with you drives him forward. If you go, he’s never gonna have cuddles to bribe him with!”

“And he won’t stop asking about you.” Gladio folded his arms. “And Iris would want my head for driving you away with my uncalled for behaviour.”

“You can say that again.” Audacia scoffed.

“Look here, Audacia. I may be your ex but –“

“You two are an old married couple. Shut it.” Her grandfather sighed. “What these two are saying, is without you, Noctis is gonna be even more high maintenance.” He approached her and cupped her face. “Your father died proud of you, you mother left proud of you. Audax is proud of you, no matter how many times you fear he hates you.” He smiled. “I’m proud of you. We all are. You’re on the home-straight now. And even though it’ll be hard after this, you’ll figure it out. So let’s clean you up and give you some space.”

“He’s been told.” Airlea aided Ignis down the steps. “He, understandably, hasn’t taken it well.” When they got to the bottom, the strategist stopped her, looked at where he thought her eyes were (it was her nose, so she tilted his head just a little so he could gauge the distance – don’t worry she apologised profusely after he finished talking) and spoke sternly. “He may not want your company, but I worry for him. If nothing else, sit with him. Let him know that you care.”

“Did you tell him about this morning? With the –“

“I did.”

“Okay. I’ll try my best, Ignis. I’ve told Audacia to cook some barramundi. If it’s bad enough, we’ll give it to Ardyn.”

“If it’s that bad –“ A book thrown onto the floor. “You best go before he hurts himself. Good luck.”

“You, too.” Airlea charged up the stairs and took a deep breath before knocking on the door and entering. She closed it softly and then turned to fell her heart break even further.

Noctis had his back to the door, his form curled into a ball with his hand wiping away the tears that never ceased. He didn’t turn to look at her. The book of messages shared was on the floor, landing on it’s pages. She picked it up and closed it before she could see anything before putting it on the chair Ignis had sat on.

Airlea walked over to the windows and looked at the darkening sky. With Luna gone, the nights were coming in sooner. And darker. There was undoubtedly going to be daemons patrolling in a few hours. She cared. She always did.

When she turned around again, Noctis was facing the door. And she sighed when she approached, clambering onto the bed and laying with her head on his back, her arms around his waist, sliding beneath his arms. She said nothing. There was nothing too say. Noctis took her bandaged hand and kissed her finger tips, as if urging it to heal quicker. She could feel the tears run onto her fingers and held him tighter, her face burying itself into his back. It hurt to see him like this.

“You’re hurt.” He was quiet.

“Not as bad as you.” She sat up then, causing him to face her. His eyes were red, cheeks stained, nose rubbed raw. And she caressed his forehead. “Think you’ll be okay to head out later?”

There was silence for a moment. “Is there a train tomorrow?”

“The last one leaves at five in the morning,”

“You can carry me there.” He turned away again. Like he was about to cry once more. “Could you find Luna?”

“We... We couldn’t find her. Sorry. We had multiple parties search, but nothing came up. My only guess it she either dissolved into the beyond, or was washed away.” She played with the hair on the back of his neck. “I... I wish there was more we could have done.”

“That wasn’t wishing your life away?”

“...Yeah.” She sighed. “Noct –“

“It’s okay.” He shrugged. “If you want to break up I –“

“Hell no a I breaking up with you, banana brain.” Airlea laid back down and rolled him over to face her. “Is that why you’re crying so much? Because you think that –“ She laughed quietly at the absurdity.

“What’s so funny about that?” He pouted and she could only laugh over how cute he was. “It’s painful.”

“Noct, we slept together two days ago. We’ve been through hell and high water together. You’ve always been there for me. You’ve kept me sane.” Airlea cupped his cheek and wiped away an unshed tear before she kissed his nose. “I love you. And I wouldn’t wish us to be over.”

“But you wished that you died in that daemon attack....”

“Heat of the moment.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“What’s it gonna take for you to believe me?” Airlea wasn’t annoyed, but exasperated. So when he rose a brow that said ‘you should know this by now’, she simply rolled her eyes and merely pecked his lips. His face acted like that wasn’t what he had thought of at all. “I’m sorry. For –“

“What sort of kiss was that?” He sat up and hovered his face over hers. His lips ridiculously close to hers.”

“Um.. the... um... small. One.. I... I guess?” A nervous laugh, cut short by the slow embrace of worry and forgiveness, desperation and affection, his hand on her cheek, their lips moulding like the final puzzle piece fitting perfectly with the others.

When Noctis pulled away, she felt the faint touch of a tear on her cheek, his forehead on hers, and she knew that his mind had wandered once more. “Never say the negatives again. Never blame yourself for my own experiences.” She felt him shift, his face going to her neck. “Help me through them.”

“I will.” Airlea rubbed his back. “Until the day I die.”

#iudv #intra unum diem vitae #noctlea #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x airlea #final fantasy xv #final fantasy xv fanfiction

12 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

Intra Unum Diem Vitae - Chapter 25

A Noctis fanfiction

Title Translation: One more day inside this life

Words: 5, 224 (FRICKING HELL GOTTA GET FULL 11 PAGES ON WORD NEXT CHAPTER)

Note: Again, no where near as good. I didn’t fall in love with this chapter. If anything, this is one of my least favourite chapters. I feel like despite the word count, I didn’t really put in any thought. So no feels unfortunately.

But next few chapters? GET THOSE BLOODY TISSUES MY DUDES!

In this chapter there is a serious of ‘flashbacks’ that happen throughout the years of Noctlea friendship season that I feel further solidify Noct’s feelings????? I don’t know????? It just happened. Onto starting to writing chapter 26 I go!

For any typos, I am very sorry! I have zero time to pre-read because of . homework and 2. christmas Drabbles. Sorry!

Also if you want to create anything for Noctlea, just do it and tag me! Because I’mma gonna tell ya now, I am Noctlea trash XD

Blood was on her hands. On her face. None of it hers. She shook. Her entire being shook and it was out of her control. It wasn’t winter. It wasn’t cold. But she felt the icy chill. She had never watched someone die. Nor had she ever killed a friend or ally. But she had to watch him die, had to watch him suffer in pain, too weak to give him mercy, the humanity he needed to see. She didn’t want to say ‘I killed him’. She didn’t want to be the murderer of the man who treated her like his own family, who should her an undying kindness when she expected him not to, who taught her eighty per cent of her life lessons...

Just like she didn’t want to leave him alone, she didn’t want to be... alone.

She didn’t want to look at her hands, but she had to. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to, instead looking past them and to the dead King. The King she could have saved if he had let her take him away from this hell. She wanted to save him, and yet she... she... she couldn’t help but... blame... herself. That was all she could do. And she apologised. She apologised as tears rolled down her cheeks, throat constricted with the effort, shoulders shaking with the burden of guilt that weighed upon her shoulders.

She begged for him to come back, quiet voices becoming louder as she grew more frantic, as her anger flared, as the tears grew heavier and harder to stop...

She was out of her own control. It destroyed her.

She couldn’t look anymore. She had to go. Her name was being called from a far off place. It was her own calling.

She turned. She came face to face with Gentiana. This.. this wasn’t real. The last time she ever saw Gentiana was in Tenebrae. Why was she here? Why now?

Airlea had no choice but to follow the messenger of the Gods, to follow the ice path. Within a second the scene had changed to roaring fires, daemons patrolling the city’s streets, Ifrit with his throne in front of the Citadel. It was a battleground. Everywhere she looked there was fighting. There was death.

She couldn’t handle it anymore. There needed to be a way out, a way to make it stop. She had to leave. She had to go. Get help. Find a way to stop the fighting with no more deaths. No more pain and suffering should be carried upon the Chosen One’s shoulders –

“Stopping now would only cause failure.” Airlea stopped and listened to Gentiana’s words. “You are his salvation. You are what makes the hard decisions.”

“I have done nothing of the sort. I let the King decide.”

“Yet it is you he turns to in an argument. When no one else will defend him openly until the break, you make the choice to defend. You make the choice to follow in your father’s footsteps knowing that it caused his demise... You follow the Chosen One, knowing that it may cause your own.”

“I promised not only my father, but his own that I would stand by him no matter the consequences.”

“A sacrifice none would decide readily. Your life is in your hands. And we will be with you every step of the way.”

The floor began to cave in beneath her feet, Ifrit’s eyes firmly set upon hers.

His fingers clicked.

Airlea jumped awake, the sound of fighting above her head reminding her of the deaths within her... nightmare? He heart was calm, her eyelids still terribly heavy. Yet, her head was no longer perched upon Noct’s lap, her phone no longer in her hand, but on the terrible. It was difficult to even attempt sleep again.

“Looks like Sleepy’s finally awake.”

“Gladio, we’ve discussed this already.”

Airlea’s ears barely picked up the back and fourth of Ignis and Gladio, more so confused as to why there was no Prompto, as to why there was no Noctis. “Where’re the others?”

“Noct is battling the daemons on the carriage roofs and Prompto is...” Gladio’s pause didn’t sound good. “His highness has been acting strangely, possibly Ardyn’s doing, we tried to take Prompto to sit and wait it out, but he’s gone after Noct. Wants to stop Ardyn, ya know?”

Airlea knew that something bad was going to happen. And she had to get out there. And fast. She didn’t want something else to play on her mind. So she stood, a little too quickly, pushing herself up via the back of the seat. “I’m going after Prompto.” She barely managed to reach the others (who were two seats behind), before pain shot through her system; the injury she had received not fully healed. And Gladio was quick to push her down onto the seat next to Ignis.

“I don’t think so.”

Gladio’s words spoke truly. She wasn’t going to be able to fight, let alone go after them. But there had to be something. Anything. “Surely there can be something. I need to continue this journey.”

“Not like this.”

“Ignis, back me up.” She was desperate. “You of all people know how much I need to finish this journey.”

There was a brief silence, three seconds long. Nothing more. Nothing less. It was a pause of thought. Of tact. Of strategy. Of weighing up the pros and cons. “We need her, Gladio. Tell me the extent of her injury.”

“Audacia stopped the bleeding. Nothing else.” Airlea didn’t give Gladio time to reply. She didn’t trust him with her injuries, still salty over the one time he dislocated her shoulder. ‘On accident’.

“It’s nothing a hi-potion can’t fix, Gladio.” Ignis was quick to speak. “It’s not a broken bone. If any daemons were to get inside, you’d need her at full strength. Astrals know I won’t be able to do much else than sit here, out of your way in case I was to hit you.”

Airlea couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, and it turned more into a scoff. Yet, when the two older men looked at her, she knew she just had to speak her mind. “I just remembered this one time when you, Ignis Scientia, went with the King and my Grandfather golfing.” Gladio knew this story, herself having told it to almost everyone (unintentionally) due to undying laughter she had for three hours. “You got drunk and thought Regis’ cane was a golf club, so he had to use the golf club as a cane and when you swore at how you missed everytime you swung, Regis took his cane, swung for the golf ball and got it into the hole thingy straight away. And he said ‘next time, leave the old man his cane’ and you were so wobbly that without the cane you just passed out on the grass, drool coming out of your mouth...”

“Enough on that, Airlea.” He pushed his glasses up his nose out of habit, the reddening of his ears only making her and Gladio burst into tears of laughter, and Ignis proceeded to slap her injury with a hi-potion out of sheer annoyance. “Now, don’t say I do nothing for you.”

“You do nothing for me.” Airlea grinned, but it soon turned into fear when Ignis gave her a deadpan expression, even more terrifying with his scarred eye and... you know... his unseeing one. “I didn’t mean it. Please don’t kill me.” She hugged him, begging for forgiveness. She knew he wasn’t keen on the act of affection, but he needed one. Even if he didn’t verbalise it, she could sense it. Afterall, when someone’s suffering, a hug can be all the need.

It caught her slightly off guard when she felt Ignis rest his hand upon the back of her head. “Now I know how I can terrify you into doing what I advise you to do.”

“Please don’t.”

“Noctis, calm down.”

“How can I calm down!? I just... I just pushed... I just pushed him off the... the...”

Airlea grasped his shoulders and forced Noctis to look at her. “We’ll find him. If he knows you as well as we do, he’d know that it wasn’t your intention.”

“I glared at him! He was Ardyn and then Ardyn was Prompto and then –“

“He’ll know that it wasn’t your intention to push him off, Noctis!” Airlea raised her voice above his own. She only raised her voice at him if her raised his. She hadn’t needed to do so since High School, and it was obvious that it had caught him completely off guard. Had caught everyone off guard.

“What.. what if he doesn’t?”

She composed herself with a heavy exhale of breath, relaxing her shoulders and gently cupping his cheeks, looking into his eyes both tenderly and seriously. She was making a promise. A promise she would never break. “We’ll make him know. I’ll give him a bloody history lesson if I have to.” She saw the water collecting within his irises, saw the twitch of his lips, the lack of laughter from what would otherwise make him laugh... He was a broken man. Noctis was already only holding together by a thread, but now? Now there was none. And he was a falling cloth, thrown onto the floor to be used another time, being trodden on by hundreds of feet a day...

He was allowing her to see him break. He was allowing her to see his soul for one of the last times... He was being open. He was trying so hard to push onward, but all he could do was accept the consequences and look back at the wrongs, look back at what broke him. And it killed him.

There was no denying it: he was dying. The Noctis everyone enjoyed the company off, was being killed by the heaviness of a crown.

And when only three people fought for him the day before, when only two of those people stayed, when both of them were broken and falling apart, she was the one he wanted to fix him. Yet... she would never get the chance to... Unless she did right by the Astrals.

And Noctis was the one who hid himself once he felt he had shown enough, burying his face into her neck before the first tear rolled down the high point of check bone and onto her skin. She was the one who weaved her fingers through his hair. “We’ll find him. And we’ll tell him the truth.

“Drive!”

“What do you think I’m fucking doing, Gladio!?” She turned sharply. “Snogging Noct under the fricking mistletoe in the school bloody library!?” Airlea wasn’t going to have any of Gladio’s antics today,

Or ever.

But mainly this time, when driving for their lives. And another explosion, relatively close, made her snap. “Noct take this godforsaken wheel.”

He gripped the wheel like his life depended on it. “Why?”

Airlea opened the car door. “Destroying things.”

“If you think I’m going to let you die for us –“

“Tough shit, Caelum. Better me than the chosen one.”

“Don’t you fucking dare, Sicarius.” Noctis slammed the door shut and forced Gladio to lean forward and steer, for he let go and clasped her shoulders like a vice. “I won’t let you do this. You promised my father to protect me just like I promised yours. If you’re doing it I’m going to.”

“You have Prompto to find. A crystal to save, the whole fucking world to save. I have nothing to save but your ass, Noctis!” She scowled. “I’m not doing this as your girlfriend, but as my duty and as your blade.” She pushed his hands away. “Now bloody drive before Gladio breaks that wheel.”

Again, Airlea opened the door. She paid no attention to Noctis calling after her, for she had leaped out before he had a chance. She was angry. No one fires at the Regalia and lives. She warped to the flying machine that was firing the missiles and warped inside.

The controls looked just like any regular helicopter.

“Hey, what are you doing in here?”

Airlea looked at the man who spoke, saw the wedding ring he wore. She felt bad, but it had to be done. “Your co-pilot slept with your beloved, I’m afraid.”

“Alan! How dare you sleep with Doris!”

She took her chance. With a little bit of this and a little bit this, she used some Magitech boosters, mixed them with some gunpowder from the rifle behind her, and then wired them up so when they next fired a missile, they would be no more.

“Bon voyage!” She gave a salute and then warped back out again, landing on the top of a train carriage. She watched as they panicked, as the engine blew. But now she had to run.

Debris flew across the field and her legs could only run so fast. She could see the others, split up, the car destroyed. She stopped. “When the hell – “ The explosion behind her had her kicking forward again. Her legs were already tired, arms flailing, lungs not functioning correctly. Daemons ran behind her, chasing her. She jumped from one carriage to the other, her footing slipping and her body falling onto the ground below. Any pain was forgotten as her adrenaline shot through the roof, the sound of burning metal screeching across the floor and forcing it’s way past the train and barricades.

In front of her, Noctis was in sight. She looked behind her, the debris practically on her heels, but when she looked forward again no one was there. She thought it was Ardyn playing tricks on her, that she was actually alone in an unfamiliar land, in an unfamiliar keep where they kept their top secret experiments.

She began to prepare herself for impact, yet the only impact she felt was her body slamming into the concrete floor, a strong grasp around her. She struggled in fear of the unknown, that it could have been a daemon or a Niff or a Magitech. Her elbow came into contact with it’s shoulder –

“I knew you had a temper, but never though violence would come into it.”

She immediately stopped. “Noctis? I’m so sorry I thought you were a daemon or a Niff or a – “

“We’ve got to get going.”

“Noctis – “

“What?”

He was harsh. Understandably so. “I was going to apologise but it looks like you aren’t going to listen.”

That forced him to speak first. “I’m sorry. Your sorry. I know. We’re both stressed, we’re both angry, so let’s just forget about what happened between us back there and –“

Airlea quietened him, grabbing hold of his collar and pulling him down to her and capturing his lips in a searing, sinful kiss before letting him go. “That’s what I wanted to do.”

He simply rolled his eyes and pulled her up as he stood. “We have no time to lose. Come on.”

Noctis stared at the Sylleblossoms within his hand. From how Airlea looked at him from across the dinner table, how she clung to her father and refused to hang around with anyone else, he knew - her a question... he knew Airlea didn’t like her – she never understood why, at least, not that she would say – but he didn’t realise how bad it was.

He had asked his father to help him make Airlea smile – he hated the frown she had started to wear and he had noticed that his father, even though he was originally amused, was becoming concerned. So they stayed up late one night, jotting down possible ideas ranging from feeding her cake to spending a day with her, from giving her a hug to the King’s idea of Noct kidding her cheek – which was out of the question.

So they settled on giving her some flowers and a day of the two being with her – it was also one of the few days where Luna was busy, so there weren’t any chances of being interrupted. And then it was just trying to find a way to the closest bakery (which was said to be the best) and getting some flowers that weren’t just...sylleblossoms. Perhaps there were to be some roses? Or forget-me-nots? According to Regis she had a soft spot for them. Noctis only knew roses to be the flower of passion and romance. If his dad was trying to get him to give his best friend a bunch of roses that screamed of Altissian romance films, he had another coming. Although, now that he thought about it, it didn’t sound like an overly bad idea. Maybe it would great to have those experiences with her. Okay, not all the lovey dovey stuff, but the romantic walks down the Altissian bridges, or romantic dinners with candles and roses on the table... Okay. That sounded exactly like what he didn’t want to do... Going to the cinema to watch one might be an option for her sixteenth though... that was, if, they were still friends by then... getting on eight years...

“What are you thinking about, Noct?” His father’s hand skimmed through his hair affectionately.

Noctis tilted his head into his shoulder and sneezed – he knew his dad was thinking it was utterly adorable how it was more feminine than manly (none of that snot projecting from his nose, no ‘achoo’ that came from deep within his chest) and it drove him mad – before moving his head again with a sniffle. “Nothing important.”

“Your eyes say differently.”

Of course, with his dad driving he could see him through the rear view mirror. Noct sighed and then looked at Regis. “Do you think we’ll still be friends when we’re sixteen?”

“Who? You and Airlea?” Noct nodded. “Of course you will. I wouldn’t doubt that even for a second. She thinks the world of you.”

“Really?” Noctis felt weight being lifted from his shoulders and he felt a small smile appear on his face. “You mean it?”

His father chuckled. “I hear it everyday. All the ‘Noct is such a great friend’ statement in thirty different ways, followed with her own unforgettable doubts.”

Noctis felt his smile fade. “What are they?”

“The normal fear we all have about seeing our friends happy with another: are we good enough?” He sighed. “She feels Lunar is a really good friend for you.”

“Why?” He felt insulted.

“She sees you two together and she sees you with the widest of grins and she thinks ‘he’s happier with her’.”

“So... she jealous?”

“Not at all.” Regis tilted his head in thought. “I’d say she’s more... anxious. Nervous, if you will. The mind does many things when you miss someone you care for – it makes you gloomy, angry, upset. Makes you worry. Even scared. She doesn’t want to lose a friend like you.”

“Can it make you confused as well?” Noctis was understanding when Airlea was upset. That he was experiencing similar emotions at random intervals. “Missing a friend, I mean.”

“Always.” At the arrival of traffic, Regis turned his body to face Noct slightly. “You miss her, hm?”

Noctis nodded. “Hm-mm. Yeah.”

“You’ll be as good as new when dawn breaks. We’ll wake her up nice and early and we’ll follow the day as planned: no interruptions.”

When the next day arrived, Noctis was having a bout of anxiety. Was she going to slam her door in his face? Was she going to die? Was she actually dead? Okay, maybe he was more worried for her than he was over if everything was going to be okay. He swallowed thickly and knocked on the door, proceeding to open it when he head her mumbled ‘come in’. First he popped his head through, then his knee came into contact with the door when he attempted to enter – if he could actually walk, he would have ran in, none of this horrid business going on.

But Airlea was there quickly, despite being exhausted from all the frowning. He half thought she’d not get up, but she did. She helped up through the door, pushed him through the room due to the homework she was doing to pass the time. He handheld gaming device was on the floor, coloured pencils dotted around the place along with countless history books on Lucis. And when she sat on the bed once more, legs crossed, nightdress over her knees and one shoulder falling from her shoulder slightly, he felt his nerves settle and he let out a big grin.

The biggest grin he had ever known his face to pull. “There’s the Airlea I know.”

“You calling me a mess?”

“It’s more you than little miss frowny.” At his teasing he caught her giggle – it was small, but a treat to hear. He passed her the bouquet which he painstakingly had to prepare with his father singing love ballads as if he was preparing for a wedding. But it was worth it. For, when she took it gingerly from his grasp, he saw her embarrassed smile and he felt so proud of himself. Because he was the one who made her smile that day.

“Noct, you... I... are you suggesting we should watch one of that Altissian romances or did you know I love roses?”

“My dad knew you liked them – I think he said that he remembered a conversation you had when you were five about how you want a bou...bou...

“Bouquet?”

“Bouquet..” His cheeks flared. “of them at your...” He cleared his throat. “At your wedding one day.”

Airlea smiled. “Yeah. They’re so beautiful and cliché.”

“What does that mean?”

“Cliché?” He nodded when she looked at him. “I think it means that it’s overused and unoriginal. Like, Altissian romances are cliché because they always have roses at a romantic dinner, walks along the bridges with Gondola rides. You could say your dad is cliché because, according to my dad, he was watched them for inspiration to get to your mum.”

“Don’t tell me they kissed like that.”

“... I have to tell you, my family saw it. And my dad walked in on them doing a lot of kissing...”

“I said don’t tell me.”

“Sorry.” But all she did was hug him tight. And he did the same. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

----

Being seventeen was hard. Especially when he had to bring his crush’s little brother with him to the hospital. No, he wasn’t going for himself. Airlea had a terrible training session – he didn’t know the details, but from what Ignis was telling him it sounded bad – and Ignis was also getting some stitches to his forearm. Gladio was thankfully undamaged except for a bruise to his cheekbone. To add onto the problem, when he got the call from Ignis, Noctis was already heading for the hospital because, in true two year old fashion, Audax fell in the garden and hit his head hard on the stone path whilst Noct was in the bathroom, doing his business. Noctis could tell there was a gash to his hairline, but how bad it was, or how much head damage there was, was a different story.

He did call his dad to take him since Ignis was, of course, in the Hospital parking lot, and the King was good at calming Audax quickly. Unfortunately he was stuck in a meeting but he offered to give him the bus fair to get there without much trouble. So they had to go to the Citadel first, where Regis was quick to give the fair and walk them down.

The bus ride was awkward. He was used to them by himself, but suddenly with a small child, who just happened to have dark hair, perched on his lap and curling into his chest, he was believed to already have a son. Obviously there was then the complaints over how it wasn’t on the news or even in the papers, and he grew tired of having to say ‘he’s my friend’s brother’. The most tiring thing was trying not to have Audax cry – because the most annoying thing on a bus was crying children, or children in general. They were so loud and disruptive. Keeping an eye on his nose wasn’t easy either, but he persevered and bounced his leg until Audax was asleep.

When the bus stopped, Noctis was the first out (he ran to that entrance) and carried Audax (the blanket draped around him) to the Emergency department. Ignis was already there, arm stitched up.

“Hey, Specs.” Noctis took a second to regain his breath. “How’s Airlea?”

“Air...le...ah....”

“Under the influence of laughing gas, I’m afraid. In otherwords, completely out of it. An afternoon nap, if you will.”

“And you and Gladio?”

“Nothing serious. How’s Aud?”

Noctis looked down at Audax, who was now awake and trying his hardest not to cry. “He’s a strong kid. I don’t think it’s as bad as it looks. I managed to clean it up before we left and it looked like a small scratch. But he did land pretty hard so I just want to make sure he doesn’t have any brain damage.”

“Here’s hoping it’s nothing serious.” Ignis was careful with how he touched Audax’s forehead. “Can you feel that, Aud?”

“Ye.”

“And can you follow my finger with your eyes?”

After a few more simple tests Ignis straightened. “Well?”

“If there is any brain damage the cat scans will pick it up. I managed to book it in for you – the doctors will be here any second. Your father might be able to come once his meeting is over.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You highness, we’re ready for you.” The doctors were prepared.

The doctors didn’t pick up any damage and Audax’s injury was stapled so the skin could heal over quicker. Airlea was okay, far more sobered from the pain relief she was given to re-locate he left knee. “How’s Audax?”

“Very tired.” Noctis had Audax on his lap, sitting with his legs across his lap and his head on his ribs. “Apart from that he’s okay. Doctors didn’t pick up any brain damage, but we have to go back in three months to make sure that there wasn’t anything hiding away.”

“That’s good. And you?”

“Much better now that I know both of you are okay.” Noctis was quick to take her hand. “I’ll take you both to see this Altissian romance in cinema for your birthday.”

“Hell no, Noct. Just keep us at your place where there isn’t a back garden and all he’ll fall onto is your clothes.”

Noctis laughed gently . “Sorry for the trouble he’s given. I should have been there.”

“You can’t control when your body needs to do it’s business, Noct.” She gave his cheek a pat. “Thank you for being here despite this chill. We’ll make an adult out of you yet.”

“I’ll give you until next August to keep to your word.”

Twenty. Prompto was twenty. There was to be a small party between the five friends, but Airlea left early, claiming that she had a meeting early the next morning at the Citadel. Noct knew that it was a bunch of codswallop. The only thing she had to do was take Audax for his final set of booster vaccinations and work for three hours in the Citadel, which, realistically, his father would probably give her the day off for doing a weeks worth of shifts today.

“Okay. Would you like us to put a portion of the snacks in a bag so you can share them with Audax?”

“It’s fine, Prompto. I’ll come by tomorrow.”

He was positive he wasn’t the only one who could tell she was upset.

“Alrighty. See ya tomorrow!” Prompto was the first to wave.

“Of course. Would you like me to give you a lift?”

“It’s okay Ignis. My car’s at Noct’s apartment complex.”

“You walked ten minutes down here?”

“Ignis, I promised Noct I’d walk down.”

Gladio held up his hand. “Want me to bring down some goodies for Audax?”

“It’s fine, Gladio. I’ll get them tomorrow.”

Noctis sat up. “Still want me to come round later?”

He saw her thought processes, saw the cogs turning. “If you want? I might go to bed early. If I do I’ll call you, but Audax would like it if you did. Anyways, I’ve gotta go. See ya.”

As soon as she was out the door, Noct began collecting some of the treats. “Dude, what are you doing?”

“She’s not going to get them tomorrow. So I’ll take them to her now.” Noctis was quick in answering. “She’s got nothing but Audax’s vaccinations and a possible three hour workshift. Something’s wrong and I want to make sure she’s okay.”

Prompto looked like he was going to cry of guilt. “I should have realised it was getting close to the day her dad died... Shit. Bad move on my part.”

“It’s not your fault, Prompto.” Gladio gave him a pat on the shoulder. “We couldn’t have foreseen how badly it’d affect her this year. She got off to a great start, it’s only been the past month where she’s been a bit... ya know... ‘meh’, in her words.”

“We’ll need to do something for her birthday. Something special. That’s not an Altissian romance film. She may be a hopeless romanctic, but the genre itself is not her go to.”

“She’s always wanted to date Noct, right?”

Prompto glared at the behomouth. “Dude! What happened to keeping it quiet!?”

Noctis felt his face burn... It was bad enough having really, really, really weird dreams about what it would be like if they were dating (not all of them were family friendly, or what he would want to share) and it was bad enough constantly arguing with himself but all he had to do now was... bite the bullet. So they say. He’d just have to wait for the perfect time. Maybe... Maybe he could have the courage for her birthday. Or Christmas...

“Puberty hasn’t quite kicked in for his highness, yet.”

“Shut it, Gladio.” The treats were in a box and in his arms. “I’ll call you in the morning if I don’t come back. Audax is probably gonna be in my way again.”

“Don’t worry , bro. You gotta make sure she continues to love you for when you ask her to marry you.”

Noctis’ face became even darker and he ran out the door.

When he came upon her once again, she was perched on the bonnet of her car, sodden from the rain water. The car was unlocked and he put the box in the boot before approaching her again. He slipped out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

“You’ll get a cold.”

He shook his head and enveloped her into his arms. “I don’t care. I just want you to be okay.”

“I just... really, really miss him.”

“I know.” Noctis was kind, soothing. “He’s proud of you. Just as I am. I’m sorry for not being able to be the for you yesterday.”

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re here now. And that’s all that matters.”

#intra unum diem vitae #iudv #noctlea #noctis x oc #noctis lucis caelum #final fantasy xv #final fantasy xv fanfiction

9 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

Intra Unum Diem Vitae - Chapter 24

A Noctis fanfiction

Title Translation: One more day inside this life

Words: 4, 641 (SURPRISE XD)

Note: No where near as good as the previous - a few time jumps and such. A little Noct POV. Also, a rather intense smoochy section.Oops.

For any typos, I am very sorry! I have zero time to pre-read because of . homework and 2. christmas Drabbles. Sorry!

Also if you want to create anything for Noctlea, just do it and tag me! Because I’mma gonna tell ya now, I am Noctlea trash XD

Tagging: @chocohoess @cerasusazule @jojopitcher @final-fantasy-xv-imagines @1000wolflover and @bluefirefox23! Thank you for any kind things you’ve told me about this fic. I really appreciate it!

To many, the train would be silent. But to Airlea... it was loud. All she could hear was the grief and anguish, the lost, the forgotten, the tainted, the corrupted, the damaged, the broken, the fragile the vulnerable, the beaten, the damned and the everlasting curse of darkness.

She moved away from the group as soon as she felt the tension surrounding Gladio grow. Maybe it was a bad thing she did that. Maybe it wasn’t. But she knew she had to leave the premises before all hell broke loose. So she stood from her place next to Noct, saying that she was going for a walk, and once he looked at her with a nod and a mumbled ‘okay’, she went off to the next carriage. She approached an elderly woman with a small smile. “Hello, um, does this train have a timetable? A friend of mine would like to know.” Some when, she was going to have a phone call from the Immortal himself. It was agreed with her Grandfather.

“They have leaflets at the end of the next carriage, my dear.” She, too, smiled. “Are you with the royal escort?”

Airlea nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Me and the Prince have been friends since we were small. Just like with the older two, it is also my duty to the throne.”

“A Sicarius?”

“How...” Airlea rose a brow. “How did you know?”

A small laugh. “Your mother was asking for you last week before the Niffs came and returned her to her chains.” A shrug. “She asked me to tell you she has information on Crudelis’ next move against you.”

“My mother’s a daemon now. The starscourge took her.”

“Lass, I took your mother to Crudelis years ago, when I believed the Empire wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Crudelis spoke of curing daemons, rebirthing their old selves, delving into a way to lessen the daemon population in Niffelheim.” She laughed dryly. “I was wrong. I wanted her out of there as soon as I found out her pain was being elongated and no one wanted to put her out of it. But Crudelis saw I wasn’t falling for his lies, and I was exiled. I couldn’t see my family”

Project Phoenix was going as planned. “So... what would you want me to do?”

“Stop her pain before she becomes the greatest daemon to plague the snows of Niffelheim, to stalk the aridlands of Cleigne, the marshes of Duscae, their grassland of the Vesperpool, the sand dunes of Leide. Do not let her take residence in the Crown City. Once she does, there is no way of stopping Crudelis from taking your life in exchange for a filthy lie from Ardyn Izunia.”

Airlea swallowed thickly. “Thank you for... pointing me in the right direction.” She looked away, her throat dry, and walked in the direction the woman had pointed her in.

The next carriage was just as suspicious as the people within it, and she made quick work of taking a timetable from it’s case and continued walking, refusing to look at it until she went into the next. There she was, the Regalia. Airlea sighed in relief and went into her pocket for the spare keys. She unlocked the doors, got into the back, and locked them again.

She felt safe now as she sprawled out, opening the thrice folded leaflet as she did so. It appeared there was going to be one last rescue train from Lucis that went to Tennebrae after this. And that one would then return to Lestallum where it would lay in wait for it’s next use.

Her phone rang from within her pocket. She fumbled for moment and answered it swiftly after. “Hello?”

“Airlea, I discovered a royal tomb at the old mining facility.”

“What’s a Royal Tomb doing in these parts?”

Cor sighed. “Your guess is as good as mine. There are undoubtedly more in Niffelheim’s grasp. God speed.”

That was a pointless phone call. And it was now time for her to - “Where is she?”

Airlea heard footsteps approaching. She was quick to leave the car and quicker still in warping to the roof of the carriage where she hang uselessly. The door opened to reveal the suspicious men before, armed from head to toe with hunting knives.

“She ain’t ‘ere, Bob. Let’s go.” A small goblin looking man spoke.

“I ain’t lettin’ the daughter of the man who killed my father get away.” A man who looked like he belong to Niffelheim command retorted.

“He was a scumbag anyways.” A snort. “No good at his job. What idiot plan on assassinating the King of Lucis when his own assassin is lacing his food with cyanide. And then what moron thinks releasing daemons into the small towns is good?”

“Shut yer trap, ya ferret.” The apparent leader of the duo saw the Regalia. “What a nice set of wheels. We could make a bargain selling –“

In a flash Airlea was in front of him, sword at his throat, and his small friend was pinned to the wall with arrows. “Another word from you and you’ll have no tongue left to talk.”

“Bob, I told ya she’s crazy! She went daemon ‘untin’ nightly for fun!”

“I like them feisty.”

Airlea felt herself wretch. It was men like him that needed killing, mercilessly. Inhumanely. She pushed him away and prepared herself for a fight. She vaguely heard the door open over the cry of help from the one who had any common sense, and she didn’t get the chance to parry the blow Bob was about to land. Blue lingered within her vision and she had to blink it away. “Feisty and taken?”

Just as quickly as he had spoke, he was on the floor with a broken nose. And Noctis was not calm. He was pissed. “Go before I impale you.”

“Bob, you don’t want to make royalty angry. He could kill you with a flick of his wrist.”

“Ferret, shut. Yer. Gob.” And then he shrugged. “With what? Yer finger?”

Just like that, the armiger was up and Airlea leaned back so her head wouldn’t get whacked by a spiritual blade. Bob was terrified. She could see it. And he stood, collected his friend, and ran. She vaguely heard the smaller of the two yelling about how stupid jumping out a window was as he... fell out the window.

“Noct, I could’ve – mmf.”

The force in which he kissed her had her on the balls of her feet, his arms around her waist causing her back to arch whist he leaned forward. Airlea clung to his shoulders for a brief moment, and that caused him to stop. “I... I’m sorry. I...” He released her. “I don’t know what –“

“Noctis, it was merely unexpected.” She looked at him. He looked at her. Both knew what the other was saying.

It happened before she had any time to even anticipate it -he was learning to start moving as soon as her mind thought of wondering. But this time she was quick to react, one arm wound around his waist and the other around his neck, fingers buried within his thick locks, the softness of which juxtaposed the roughness off the impassioned caress of their lips.

His hands were upon her cheeks one second, and the next they were upon her hips, and then his arms were around her waist, pulling her in closer until there was no room for both their bodies to breath, like one step forward would knock the other’s balance.

He may not have looked it, but Noctis was strong, quick thinking...

Sinful.

His kisses were ardent then languid, fierce then tender, then back to a drug that you just wanted to keep taking to stop the pain. Airlea was thoroughly addicted. With every kiss he broke, she was back for more. With each one she broke, he was back for even more.

Time stood still.

And it wasn’t long until Airlea had managed to open to unlock the Regalia.

The sound of the door unlocking had her moving Noctis forward, his brows high in confusion, and she opened the door. She got into the back and pulled Noct in after her.

He had to find both her and Gladio. Noctis wasn’t prepared to have is life, already falling apart at the seems, shatter before he became King. If Audacia was right, which, if she was just as sharp as father Sicarius, she probably was, they were walking into a trap. Full of daemons. And possibly Crudelis... And more daemons.

Yes, Gladio was with them. No worries, right? Not even he could survive so long, always in the front, standing around with his sword on his shoulder, showing off his muscles, instead of fighting. Now was not the time for horseplay.

In the Nebulawood, at one in the morning, there was a trap set to go off as soon as Airlea was in sight, and I would not only make what magic she did have (though rarely used) useless, but also her own strength would no longer exist. For a week. And there was no way she’d be able to survive with healthy food and water – she lived off sweet treats, desserts and energy drinks. Without them, she would be Ignis without Ebony: a nightmare.

They were running out of time.

It was only by happenstance that they had found the trap laid... unleashed. Yet Airlea was still fighting with full force, magic being considered. “Gladio, I’m not going to do it! It could hurt him!”

“Noct isn’t gonna care so long as you survive!”

“I.. do!” She sent an Imp flying with a hefty kick. They were surrounded (one Iron Giant, two Red Giants, three ice bombs, one necromancer and a troublesome Arachnae) and if she didn’t do anything, Noct would have to make a dramatic entrance. A deep clunky sound echoed from the ground, a red light starting to appear from above.

“That must be the draining components. Once they’re put together, she’ll be rendered useless. The same thing that happened twelve years ago will happen again. And she may not survive this time.” Audacia was already preparing for an attack, her tone stern.

It drove Noctis forward. No daemon was going to take her away from him. If she was to die, she would die either fighting valiantly by his side (preferably) or of natural causes, in the warmth of the Citadel.

So he warped to the tallest tree and held out his hand. A flame swarmed his open palm, his face beginning to sweat at the heat, the licking flames. He warped to the attacking red giant and quickly jumped (so the daemon didn’t notice) before landing a burst of flame in the middle, followed by Audacia’s throw of a quadcast firaga (cura level 50) from high above, her landing being the typical highwind of a dragon, with a twist of an ice burst from the lance she carried.

The daemons iced over, and all went quiet for a moment. But the ice began to cackle and fizz, as if the combo had yet to work against the strengths of the daemons. The group were already surrounding Airlea (who started to have a temper tantrum over how none of them ever let her show that she was actually very skilled at killing things) to protect her from whatever happened next.

And that same cackling became a rumble. And the rumble became a hiss, and then it all stopped once more. And he was terrified. They all were. The silence dragged on. And on. And on... And then... He focused hard... He didn’t know if he could do it, but he had to try...

“Shield going up!” He raised his hand, just as his father had before him, just as he had seen Airlea do, and the debris of his and the spitting of embers crashed against the shield he had managed to raise. It wasn’t going to last forever now that the instrument was connected.

It was him going off on a whim, purely out of curiosity, when he chose to fling the shield ahead of him and to the dampener. It took down it’s own shields and then, with a small explosion, it was destroyed.

“Boom, Baby!”

“Prompto, focus on driving and not on cheering.”

“Iggy, lighten up! I did some adulting and it was –“

“Exploding something is merely satisfying.”

The bantering was the least of his worries. For, when Noctis turned, Airlea was glaring at him. Hard. And he knew he was in trouble. “Caelum, I told you what I was doing.”

“Walking into a trap wasn’t written on the note.” Noctis crossed his arms. “You keep on going out like this, thinking we’re not gonna worry over you! If you told me face to face I could have got here so much sooner and then you wouldn’t be so angry.”

“I’m not angry. You are.”

“Says the one glaring at me like I’m in the wrong.” He scoffed. “Let’s face it, if it wasn’t for us reinforcements, you’d be dead.”

“Don’t let it go to your head, lover boy. Or we won’t be together anymore.”

“Someone’s sour.” Gladio’s remark did nothing to stop the underlying anger from burning up her cheeks. And Noctis found it embarrassingly adorable.

“Amicitia I swear to Shiva, if you don’t stop siding with Caelum, I will make Scientia dunk your head in a vat of ebony laced with laxatives!”

“I won’t do such a thing, Airlea.” As if Airlea saying his last name summoned him, Ignis was there, cleaning his classes.

“Scientia, if you don’t I will confiscate your ebony for a month.”

“I am a strategist and a master of stealth.”

A small, boyish laugh and a grin ricocheted off the trees. “Come on, Airlea. We did just save your life.”

“I didn’t ask you to do so but... thanks... I... I kinda needed it.”

Noctis felt smug. His smile portrayed it along with the mocking bow and the triumphant tone he carried. “Well, Sicarius, I am honoured that myself and my friends have your undying gratitude.” He rose his head to find her rolling her eyes. “I would like us to be the ‘Noctis and Airlea’ we were before this argument. Would you agree?”

She sighed. “Yeah... I do.”

Noctis offered her hand. “Then, allow me to set things right.”

As she took his hand and he straightened, she spoke, as if begging for him to stop annoying her. “You did nothing wrong...”

“Oh? But a hero always does this one thing that I have not yet done.”

“If it’s ‘annoy the person you saved’, you’re doing pretty well.”

Her sass wasn’t the return he was after, but he should have expected it. At least he was winning in one department. And soon he would win in another. He looked to the guys (who all promptly looked away, Gladio’s turn included a chuckled and the traditional ‘wuss’) and then back at Airlea. And with the small action of taking her hair behind her ear, Noctis leant in slowly, voice low and quiet. “I meant this.” And they shared a kiss of sentimentality, of tender value. It put the beauty of the stars to shame.

And so did his blushing face when Prompto snapped a photo.

Airlea rose her brow at the apparent awkwardness between everyone but her... She missed something. And it was big. But what was it? Ardyn? Someone being insensitive?

Her?

Nah. It wasn’t her, surely. She missed the whole ordeal and who was she to bring it all up? After all, right now finding this Royal Arm was far more important than lingering on the past. Or was that only her to believed that? Well, Ignis did, but it was a pretty big deal he was going through. And knowing him, he probably blamed himself for whatever this tense atmosphere was caused by.

Airlea was behind Ignis whilst Gladio was in front with Prompto. Someone had to have his back, there was no telling when he would fall backwards or lose his balance. Or if any enemies were following. She saw Ignis trip up the slope, nearly falling into the electric generator, and she put most of her body in front of him, where she swiftly and gently helped him regain himself. “Careful there, Ignis.” She waited until he nodded in thanks before steering him in the right direction. “Did I miss anything on the train?”

“Yeah. It was a pretty big deal.” Prompto was now on the Ignis’ other side. “Between Gladio and Noct.”

“Did Gladio lose his temper?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And Noct took the full brunt of it. Again.”

“Yup.”

Airlea let out a sigh. That heavy tension was enough to tell her that Gladio was going to snap. And at the wrong time. “I knew it was going to happen.” Another sigh, a hand running down her face. “I knew it was gonna happen some when. Just... didn’t know when.”

It was even harder at Camp that night. No one spoke to anyone. Airlea had taken to guzzling down five energy drinks just to keep her awake through the night. And the next day was harder still. With Gladio and Noctis still not talking, it was as if Gladio no longer cared. And Airlea took his place in protecting and guarding, being in five places at once, trying not to fall asleep.

There were no songs to be sung, no laughs to be laughed. There were no smiles. “Hey, stop walking so fast. You should be caring just as much as us.”

“Maybe he does Gladio .” Airlea was quick to interject before Gladio continued. “Maybe he’s not running from his responsibility as a friend to Ignis. I’m willing to wager he’s running from you. Because I can tell you now, if you had a go at me whilst I was grieving, I’d be doing to.” She laughed dryly and then glared. “There’s a time and place to remind someone of their duty, and it’s not when they grieve for the dead. He cares. Trust me. He talks apologies in his sleep, cries because of the nightmares he faces. Maybe next time sleep comes round, he’d be scared to. So give him time and space. That’s all he needs.”

And she went off again, jogging to catch up with Noctis. He was tired. As if he didn’t sleep that night. As if everything he said, he said awake. Hoping that no one would hear but her. Sure enough, she did. She was there when he struggled, covered in sweat. She was there when he wanted her alert presence. She was there when he threw his head onto her lap. She was there to drape the blanket over him, to say nothing and only massage his temples and kiss his cheek in the vain hope of his final three hours of sleep be free of his fears.

She’d be there for him again now, just like he had stood in wait for her around the bend. The smile he did give her was small and pained, apologetic and like he didn’t deserve anyone. “Airlea...” She felt his hand in hers before she got too far forward. “You don’t have to stick up for me.”

“Noct, remember that guy who told me to take up those heavy things way back when?” He thought for a moment, then nodded. “You had my back. You always have. So let me have yours, okay?” She gave his shoulder a pat. “Come on. Tomorrow’s the last train out of here. We need to find that blade.” She went to walk on again, but he held her hand tighter.

“You’re too good for a... coward like me.” He looked down at their hands.

She blinked momentarily before she realised what he was going on about. When she did her eyes narrowed. “Gladio called you that, did he?” Noctis looked to side. Airlea knew now. She looked over his shoulder and there was no sight of the guys. She looked to her right and saw a rock in which both could sit on. “Come. We should wait for the guys.”

She walked, and he followed. Airlea continued to hold his hand, it didn’t seem like he was willing to let go. And neither was she. He was the first to sit, and she followed. The sun was just about beginning to set and she knew it was going to be another restless night with her diet being energy drinks. The red-hued rocks began to turn into a burnt ochre, the skies turning red whilst the sun began to lower, yet it cast a warm glow to their faces despite the winter they were sure to come across within a few days.

“You aren’t a coward, Noct.” She saw him look at her with a surprised expression. “Wayward? Sure. Depressed? Aren’t we all. Terrified? More nervous of messing up. But not ready for what life has thrown at you? Most definitely.” She looked at him. “If I were in your shoes... I don’t know how I would have coped. I mean, all the people I’ve lost I’ve had time to recover from before another went. But you? You’ve had it chucked at you before anything could sink in. You broke hard when your Dad died, but you knew you had to continue. If not for Lucis, for him. To do him proud even though you’ve always made him so.”

“Airlea – “

She held up her hand. “You forced yourself to recover before you really had a chance to grieve. And then a few weeks later... Luna... you watched Luna... die. And you couldn’t do anything about it. I could have done something so you could have done something, but I was fighting for my own life, in an ocean, trying not to get shot by Crudelis and his crew, but also get clobbered by Leviathan.” And then she turned and placed a hand on his cheek. “You will recover – just as well as the others. But now you acknowledged everything and you know you need to keep doing this. If not for King Regis, then for Lucis. If not for Lucis, then for Eos. You’re not a coward. You’re just lost.”

He nuzzled his cheek into her palm, eyes staring into hers. “What if I can’t get unlost? What if I can’t find my way.”

“We’ll help you. I’ll be your map to help you. All you need to do, is believe. I know it’s hard, but we’ll get there. Together. With all of us. As a team. Whether Gladio cooperates or not is none of our business, so long as you remain civil.”

“Want to know why I’ve always loved you?” She nodded in curiosity. And he leaned forward, his forehead on her shoulder. “Because you know when I hurt. When I need support and understanding guidance with a pep talk. You don’t... raise your voice unless I raise mine.”

She laughed a little through a breath. “Only because I can’t bring myself to get angry at the man I love.” Airlea looked up when Prompto called her name. She waved and gestured them towards them. They needed filling in on what she had managed to see over the few cliff faces she had managed to somewhat climb. “And because I don’t like being yelled at when I’m suffering. Got to remember though Gladio’s not the easiest to get along with, but when you do get on, he’s there for you. I told him that you need space, and I think he needs Ignis to give him a talk.”

“I’d like to see that work.”

“If it doesn’t, then I’ll just have drive so you two grudgers are forced to get on.”

---

Even after that talk, both of them refused to talk to each other. And if they did, it was just an argument which she had to raise her voice to stop so Ignis wouldn’t have another thing to worry about. She was half tempted to say ‘shield’s protect, not advise’, but she guessed it wouldn’t go down all too well. Even after the battle with the Malbaro, where Ignis felt of use again, they were still refusing to talk. And it was not only driving her up the wall, but everyone else, too. But the tension was... different. It wasn’t intimidating. More... concerned. Like something needed to be said but no one could find the words.

“A moment?”

Ignis was the one to tackle it head on. She was prepared to stand up for him. And so was Prompto.

Gladio turned on his heel, completely ignoring Noct’s prescence. “Everything okay?”

“It bloody well isn’t. And I won’t suffer this pointless bickering in silence any longer.” Airlea felt her eyes lower to the ground and shifted her weight onto one leg, her arms at her sides as if there was nothing more she could do. Like she didn’t even want to be a part of this anymore. She knew that if anyone was to be hurt by their differences, it would be Ignis. He probably blamed himself even though there was nothing he could have done to stop these events. “Let’s be frank.” He was stern now. “My vision hasn’t improved, and it probably won’t.” Airlea hated knowing that this was all going to happen. She hated knowing that this was just the beginning of a war spoilt life. She hated that Ignis was right. “Yet, despite of this... I would remain with you all. Til the very end.” His words were beautiful.

“Sorry, but I object.” Gladio, shut it. “War is a matter of life and death.” He was relatively calm.

“But we’ll be there.” And Prompto already jumped on the chance to protect Ignis, the one man none of them could function without.

Airlea could see Ignis’ temper was bubbling over like a pan ready to come off the heat. She needed to say something. “Let Ignis finish, ladies!” Airlea’s voice was stern, raised, yet calm.

“It’s not about us looking out for him!” Here we go again.

“Uh-huh.” Prompto retorted to Gladio’s apparent determination to have his own way without letting Ignis even continue. “Well, then he should be free to choose.”

“There’s more to it than just what he wants!”

“I know full well!” Just like that, the man no one had ever seen lose his rag, burst. He was the strategist, the tactician, the Prince’s advisor. He knew the consequences better than anyone else. And the silence that fell was enough for him to further emphasis that he knew what he was signing up for. “I won’t ask you to slow down. If I can’t keep up, I will out.”

At last, Gladio looked to Noct. And he spoke, not in the nicest tone. It was more... menacing and sarcastic. “What says ‘his majesty’?”

“Gladio, cut it out.” Airlea moved from her spot. “There’s one way to talk to someone suffering and this isn’t it.”

“Airlea...” Ignis was calm now, despite the remainder of his anger being aimed at her.

“Sorry.” She knew he wanted his say. “Continue.”

Ignis nodded in gratitude and his voice carried an air – it wasn’t commanding, but supportive. He knew. “Noct, you are King. One cannot lead by standing still. A King pushes onwards, always, accepting the consequences and never looking back.” The stern tone came back ever so slightly. Ignis still carried authority as advisor, and he wasn’t afraid to use it. “Gladio, Noct will take his rightful place. But only one he is ready.”

There was an obvious thought process from Gladio. And then he spoke once more. “Fine. But we’re still taking a big risk. We better all be ready.”

#iudv #intra unum diem vitae #noctlea #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x oc #final fantasy xv #final fantasy xv fanfiction

9 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

Intra Unum Diem Vitae - Chapter 22

A Noctis fanfiction

Title Translation: One more day inside this life

Words: 2, 507

Note: Finally! Firstly I’m gonna apologise for how long it’s taken me to get this up and for the break I took. I skipped out, like, 5 chapters because they weren’t really anything important. What I’ll do though is fill them in once this is over and the christmas drabbles scheduled. It’s nice to back in the swing of things! So if it’s nt making any sense, that’s probably because I wrote this last week of school term when one’s brain stops working XD Can anyone guess the Rise of the Guardians reference? XD

PLEASE COMMENT - Feedback is much appreciatiated and if you wanna tag anyone to get them started because you’ll think they’ll enoy, that’s fine to do so, too! But please please comment. It would mean the world to me. If you want to stop being tagged ALSO TELL ME

Also if you want to create anything for Noctlea, just do it and tag me! Because I’mma gonna tell ya now, I am Noctlea trash XD

Tagging: @chocohoess @cerasusazule @jojopitcher @final-fantasy-xv-imagines @1000wolflover and @bluefirefox23! Thank you for any kind things you’ve told me about this fic. I really appreciate it!

If anyone wants to be tagged please don’t be afraid to contact me!

It was dark. It was cold. And she was scared. Airlea was scared. Hours had gone and still there was no sign. She shivered, arms around her waist as the wind blew uncontrollably, her hoodie billowing behind her, hair knotted and matted, dripping and heavy from the downpour of wave spray. Her hands were covered in blood: not all of it was her own. But most of it... most of it was.

Gladio urged her not to take another step – not until morning. But there was no time to lose. Noctis was out there, somewhere, either dead, alive, or walking wounded. She wasn’t going to leave him. So she ignored Gladio, not caring that he called after her, not caring that she hurt deeply.

They had to be found.

Whilst the others searched for Ignis, her top priority was in finding Noctis. Without him, the crystal could not return. Without him... Lucis would shatter. Eos would rip apart like a broken heart with so many fractures and scarring that it is simply impossible to heal.

She found it funny how only a few days ago she joined Noctis at the carnival, taking great joy in watching his frown turn into the widest of grins at the freedom he had, at the lack of judgement, the lack of pressure and high expectations. How, only a day ago... both were terrified for the future...

Now... Now that fear was a reality...

The fear that he was dead or washed away. The fear that she was dead or washed away... She wished she could turn back time, stop her chest from feeling heavy, stop her vision from turning blurred... She found her breathing turn laboured, her movements slowing dramatically, feet stumbling across the paved floors. Eerie cries of Magitech soldiers beginning to surround her, loud cries of names being called out from families that had not managed to escape in time...

Airlea stopped walking, throwing her back at the wall in which she had used to support herself, and sunk down to the floor. She tilted her head back, wrapped her arms around her torso, brought her knees up to her chest.

She wanted it all to stop.

“Grandpa! She’s over here!”

Airlea’s hearing was vague, barely picking up the worrisome sound of her sister’s voice, the quick footsteps of running approaching, the clanging of metal on metal and the sound of hungered, encaged daemon souls. “Audacia, stop the bleeding. I’ll hold them off.”

“Grandpa –“

“No arguing. Save your sister’s life. That’s why you left wasn’t it?” A momentary silence. “Go. Stop the bleeding and take her away from here.”

Airlea slipped from the wall and onto the floor, eyes barely picking up the motion of Audacia kneeling beside her. “No... Need to find...” She tried to sit up. “I need to find –“

“We’re not going anywhere.”

The fireworks should have been where her attention lingered. It was rarity in Insomnia, their only use being on the evening of the King’s Coronation going well into morning, on his birthday, on the day of mourning to remember those who had lost their lives in the centuries of warring against the Empire, the early hours of the next day being used to celebrate their lives. They always gave her a haunting feeling, she always knew that the parties the King set were so both he and Noctis could have something to remember before their deaths arrived... Before Lucis fell...

Besides, there’d be another day to enjoy them.

The two had wasted their day finding chocobo chicks and balloons and decorating the plaza, playing arcade games and shooting targets and hitting cactuars with hammers. When Noctis had decided to start his fishing journey, she had a call from Cid. He required her assistance with the petting zoo, Prompto was too busy calming chocobos and everyone else was trying to stop other creatures from escaping, meaning no one could operate the retractable roof to stop them all from getting soaked to the bone.

She gave him a quick kiss for luck and refused to take his jacket, running off to the next district of town before he had a chance. There, she worked the roof and found herself trapped in the rabbit pen. It was safe to say that with her remaining still, taking pictures and sending them to the gang over group chat, ended up in her finding a friend who simply refused to leaver her. She had helped nurse him back to health when she fled Insomnia, keeping him with her until they arrived at Wiz’s.

She had to take the fella with her to the Gondola fishing spot otherwise he’d get all excited to see her and refuse to let her eat her healthy fruits in peace. So the he was, led out on her stomach cutely whilst she read and Noct fished, claws lightly digging into her ribs whenever a firework went off.

“Don’t you like my rod? Just one bite...”

Airlea found herself holding back her laughter as she turned over the page of her father’s old diary – it held many tales of himself and Regis trying their maddest to have the future queen fall in love with the young prince. “Kinky.”

The confused tone within Noct’s voice had her losing herself internally. “Wha –“

“You were going on about biting your rod.”

“Airlea, I meant the rod you use to catch fish.”

She set the old book down. “I see, you go fishing for the ladies with your rod.” With a small reach, she retrieved the shoulder bag she kept the food in. She fished around inside and pulled out the pot of apple slices she made for lunch back at the petting zoo. Opening the tub was a nuisance with the black furred beauty trying to get his nose into it before she had opened it.

Noctis simply chuckled. “I’ve already caught the most wonderful woman in all of Eos. I caught her before I even intended to. And when I went to, I found there were no others like her.”

Airlea fed an apple slice to the small animal, breaking it into smaller pieces as a gradual transition from syringe feeding to solids. “I should hope I’m prettier than a fish, though.”

“Some fish scales are magic to the eyes, but you? Your something else. And I wouldn’t trade you for a silly fish any day.” His voice was tender, not at all teasing.

“Someone’s in a very complimenting mood tonight.” Whilst Airlea ran her fingers of the rabbit’s back, she heard Noctis set down his fishing rod and slither over to her, his forehead resting upon her shoulder.

“Hmm.” He shifted until his nose was on her collarbone. “It’s hard not to be when the only girl you want to marry is the one person you may never be able to wed thanks to some pointless treaty.”

Airlea tilted her head, her lips pressing a kiss to his crown. “Did I hear that correctly? Did I just hear ‘marry me’?”

The following silence wasn’t of tension, but more of embarrassment and affectionate teasing. She didn’t have to look at Noctis to know that he was blushing, his ear tips red and face in the most adorable pout the guy could ever give. And he mumbled. “Not what I was getting at.” He shifted again, his nose letting out a huff at the whiskers going up his nostrils and tickling his nose hairs.

His actions only made her laugh (lovingly of course), and she only wrapped her free arm around his waist. He was cute and he knew it – the way he had her wrapped around his little finger with just a single look with the puppy dog eyes she slayed her argument as if it had been taken out by a judgmental old git who never gave her Christmas presents (Ramuh).

“I’ll always love you, Noct.” Her fingers played with the ends of his hair, her voice sincere. “Even if Luna does get in my way.”

“You’re not helping the situation.”

“The situation that shouldn’t go on; they broke their end of the bargain before it was even printed onto paper for discussion.” She scoffed. “C’mon, Noct. You know bringing it all up is a bad move.”

“Technically, Airlea, you brought it up.”

“You proposed to me.”

“No. I don’t remember going ‘hey, marry me’ to you. Did I?”

“Certainly sounded like it to me.”

“Well I didn’t.” He rolled over to face her, his nose now buried in her neck. “I would if I could.” He shifted gently, moving his head so his ear was over her heart. “You wanna know something?”

Airlea smiled, one arm under her head whilst the fingers of her other slipped beneath the sections of hair that framed his face, softly playing with his baby hairs. “Go on then.”

He simply frowned and averted his gaze. “I wish I had the courage to ask you out last day of school. That was my plan – I planned it all out in my head – ask you out and regardless of the answer take you out so it was just the two of us either as friends or, you know... a couple.” He fiddled with a strand of her hair nervously. “But I chickened out last second and just asked if you wanted to play video games at my place. If I did... maybe we wouldn’t have what we have now – we’d either not be together, engaged or happily married.”

“We’ll still be married in our imaginary worlds, nitwit.”

“Maybe when this is over, I can cancel the –“

“It’s already been cancelled for the waking of Leviathen.” She took a breath. “I did it myself. With a threatening glare. You in films where someone pushes the annoying person onto a table and then shoves a knife into the table? I did that.”

“You did wha-“

“He was too long and his assistant forced my hand.” She acted like it was nothing. “I was also half tempted to put ‘cancelled because the empire broke their deal and the prince already has a girlfriend’, but the niffs check it constantly so if I did that, we’d be killed from the off.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “All because you don’t want Luna marrying me.” He sighed gently and took her hand. “Your so cute.”

“I’d hardly call jealousy cute when the cutest bunny is currently look at you like he wants to kill you for the lack of attention.”

Noctis sat up then, but he allowed his face to hover over hers. “He can wait.”

Airlea woke the next morning to her room bathing in the warm Altissian sun pouring through the windows, the gentle breeze blowing the long, white curtains, allowing more of the sun’s golden light to creep in.

With a small noise – it was like a tired mumble that meant ‘need more sleep’ – she rolled over to face the door, the sun catching her back, only to be met with a chuckle and an arm around her waist to pull her closer.

She simply ignored it, nuzzling into Noct’s chest. It was bare. She thought nothing of it as he had been doing that a lot with the night being warmer than those in Lucis. “Mornin’”

“Mornin’ to you, too.” And his fingers were in her hair. “How do you feel.”

“Tired.” She yawned. “Why?” With heavy lids, she looked up at him, deep blue eyes meeting her turquoise ones. At his instant blush, she, too, felt heat rise to her cheeks. She had thought it was merely a dream, that they’re... ‘distraction’ from real life was simply a figament of her imagination not... what really happened. “I-I’m... I’m good. Just, um, you know, hoping that Gladio doesn’t bring up how loud you were.”

“You were loud not me.”

“We were both loud enough to wake the guys.”

Another, far more awkward, silence. “Did.. Did I.. hurt...you?”

“No. Not that I can recall.”

“Well... that’s good.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway... we should, uh... you know... get ready.”

“Good plan.”

“Airlea... Gods, Airlea? Can you hear me?”

Airlea groaned. Her head was pounding like crazy and she felt even weaker than she did before. She was hot, clammy, feverish. A cold, damp cloth was pressed to her forehead, the sound of her elder sister, worrying, was relieving to her: she was still very much alive.

Her eyes were heavy, still, and a struggle to open. But when she had finally managed to force herself awake, she was still out in the open, Audacia peering over her in relief. “Thank Bahamut. You’re alive.”

Airlea waved her statement aside, trying to sit up only to be forced back down by Audacia’s stern shove. “Where’s Noctis...”

“Surrounded by Niff forces “ Audacia went to the box at her feet, taking out a syringe that contained fifty milligrams of morphine. “No one has been able to get past the dozens of MTs – around a hundred according to Wheskam.” She injected the morphine into Airlea through her arm, making sure it went directly into the blood stream. ”I’ve managed to stop your bleeding, and it’s honestly a miracle how you’re still alive. Anyone else would have died.”

Again, Airlea didn’t care. “You can thank the amount of protects I had to throw up during the ambush.”

Audacia stood and pushed the box to one side, one of her old friends picking it up and taking it away. “I called him over to help me out, okay.” She helped Airlea up, bracing her firmly against her.”

That unbearable pain that shot up her body was contained through the tilt back of her head. “Audacia, what are you doing?”

“Being the sister I never was: I’m getting you into the heart of the square. Noct is there, right in the centre. He’s wounded, how badly no one knows.”

“What about you?”

“I’ve got a group waiting in a row of abandoned homes in the street next door. Once you’ve got him, I’ll give the signal and we’ll charge. Prompto will be collecting the both of you – he’s the only one who knows this area as if it was Insomnia.”

Airlea gave a pained laugh. “I mean with Ignis. Shouldn’t you be with him?”

A silence. A silence of thought, of contemplating, of hesitation. Of guilt. But it was as quickly gone as the look of uncertainty had appeared. “Saving my sister’s ass and the life of our future King is more important than seeing the pain I could have easily stopped if I didn’t make that stupid mistake... If I had just followed my gut instead of my head – “

“It happens to everyone at some point in their lives. You’ve just been unlucky with when it happened.” Airlea sighed. “You know, the biggest mistake you ever did, was leave...”

“I know... But right now? The biggest one I’ll make is going back and giving up on our King. Let’s get him out of there.”

#intra unum diem vitae #noctlea #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x oc #noctis x airlea #final fantasy xv #final fantasy xv fanfiction #final fantasy fanfiction

7 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 6 years

Text

Wonderful Christmas Time - Noctlea - 7th December

Hope you guys have had a good time so far this December! Yes, these are all pre-written and scheduled for 5am UK time XD

Not quite so happy with this one, but it is what it is and I hope you guys all enjoy!

Words: 4,455 (why, Noctlea, do you let me ramble? Damn you.)

Tagging these beauties: @jojopitcher @bluefirefox23 @noboomoon @chocohoess @perimmaster @amicitonia

The party wasn’t exactly what Noctis was expecting, and he doubted it was what Airlea expected, too. Aristocrats were everywhere, Kingsglaive and Crownsguard constantly on the look out for security breaches, fancy dresses and suffocating suits. The hundred guests that fit into the ball room created a thick, unbreathable atmosphere that had the Royal feeling light headed. Women wore heavy perfume and heavy makeup, showing off their body in the most prime and proper way, as if they were wanting him to choose any one but her to be his wife. The heavy aerosol and fragrance, the tightness in the back of his throat and the pounding headache the bickering had triggered, caused him to excuse himself quickly from his bodyguard’s side, retreating to the tranquillity of the balcony.

It was cold, no doubt about it, but it was a welcome greeting compared to the insufferable heat inside, the claustrophobia of the crowds, the toxicity of fragrance and the horrendous neon that some stupid person decided to wear just to make himself known.

Noctis sat on the chair (which was perched in the left corner of the two walls beneath a porch) and folded his arms around himself. The wind was bitter, his cheeks and nose turning numb, his toes quickly becoming frozen. Yet he did nothing to rectify them, eyes mesmerised once again by the amount of light Insomnia contained – it was homely, safe. And he watched the first snow of December fall lightly – it wasn’t enough to set, the flakes turning to water droplets as they hit the floor. His breath condensed into puffs of white fog that dispersed evenly with the breeze, the sprouts of winter flowers shaking off the drops of melted snow.

It was a miracle how much Insomnia had repaired in the past year. Admittedly, the damage was not as bad as anyone had expected, but the idea of working district by district certainly aided the repairs. Families who had managed to survive outside of Lucis were returning to Insomnia – most had never been, coming from either the country of Accordo or what remained of the Niffelheim empire. With how low the entire Eos population was, no one could argue.

Noctis ran a hand over his stubbled chin (mentally noting to thank Airlea for keeping it neatly trimmed) with a sigh, looking over the city. He hoped everyone was getting along – or as well as humanely possible.

“Oh, hey dad.”

The King tilted his head, acknowledging the Prince’s joyless tone with a raised brow. “Hey, Reg.” He turned his head to face him, noting the scowl on his son’s features. “What’s up?”

“Mum’s caught in a meeting.” Regis crossed his arms as he leaned on the balcony. “Everyone but Prompto have refused to get her out. Prompto tried, but Cor simply never gave in…”

Noctis nodded as his son spoke, listening to the sadness his voice contained. It reminded Noctis of the amount of parties he was dragged to only to find his father in a meeting – sometimes they would last the whole time. Any ‘normal’ child would have enjoyed it, but being in an uncomfortable, claustrophobic area where everyone wants to know you, and no one to cling onto, made his dislike for parties that much stronger. It wasn’t until he was ten that he had Airlea to metaphorically stick to, both their father’s deeming it to be a confidence builder for the both of them. And if that meant holding each other’s hand when a fire broke out (a guest dropped their lighter onto the curtain) and escaping with bruises and Airlea with an even more damaged shoulder (after Gladio accidentally dislocated it in training), then they did pretty well with their confidence boost. At least Airlea did.

Evacuate the premises!

Smoke had already began to spread, the fire already crawling up the silk of the curtains and reaching areas Noctis never thought would take hold. He was both awestruck and absolutely terrified of the naked flame: knowing that someone was going to blame either him or Airlea for ‘accidentally on purpose’ using fire to cook a meal. Which was completely untrue – Airlea hated using her powers due to the lack of control she had over them and the migraines that seemed to follow, and he knew the dangers of it from two past experiences. It was almost like he was living them again, in his own home, and he could do nothing but stand still.

Airlea was quick to grab his wrist in a tight grasp, dragging him along into a run whilst half supporting him – he had only just recovered fully from his short term paralysis in his lower body. She was quicker than him for that very reason, but she wasn’t scared to slow down so he could catch up. Still, they were caught in the swarm of large dresses that looked like no one could move in them.

“Out of my way, idiots!” And she forced their way through the sea of panic, pushing people out the way. “If you want the Prince to die and you put away for treason than by always stay gathered in a huddle, not even attempting to open the door even though there’s a fire behind us in case you haven’t realised.” She was snappy, not seeming phased at all by the flames that had also began to frame the door. “Instead of standing there why don’t you also start climbing out from the balcony? There’s drain pipes to slide down. Use your survival instincts and move.” The fire doors were proving to be more trouble than they were worth and for the first time he saw Airlea crack her knuckles and kick the door open with a crack, finishing it with a heavy shoulder barge.

Noctis couldn’t move, now thoroughly shocked by her feat of strength, which only caused her to sigh in annoyance and throw him over her shoulder and run. They weren’t the first out, but they weren’t the last. The glaive and the guard were putting out the fire quickly. Airlea was out of breath, Noctis coughing and spluttering, and her feet were heavy.

When she fell to the ground, weak and nauseous, he knew she was careful not to drop him or land on him. He made sure she knew he was there to help her, patting her bac with every coughing fit, rubbing her back when she held a hand to her head.

“Your Highness, Airlea. You’re both okay.” Her father was the first to find them, kneeling down beside the two.

“I am, but Airlea needs help. Medicine, a blanket, a –“

“Noct, I’m fine. It’s you we need to worry about. We don’t know if –“

“I’m not coughing as much as you. You’re clearly not well. You used your shoulder to open that door.” Noctis wasn’t having her excuses. Every time she tried to talk he continued. And he was quick to look up to her father. “Can you take us to the nearest hospital?”

“Your Highness, your father –“

“Can meet us there.” He was blunt, standing his ground as he got onto his feet and pulled Airlea up. He wrapped an arm around her middle, her arm over his shoulder. “Take us to the hospital, Sir.”

“You’re dad’s gonna kill me for this.” And as soon as he made that call, he was their escort. And he famously said the very truth of the situation. “You act like a cold hearted boy, morose and reserved. Yet you worry too much for your own good.”

“I’ve been through a lot more than any other kid should, Sir. I’m not prepared to lose who keeps me sane.”

Noctis had nearly forgotten how shocked he was at her snap at every single noble in that room, how she had forgotten all of her manners just so she could get him out of there. He knew that if it were to happen today, she’d swear at them whilst he covered Regis’ ears and after she’d say ‘don’t you repeat any of that, my boy’ in a low, angered voice before opening the door as if she was used to the jamming hinges.

He looked at Regis with a gentle smile, seeing himself in body language, Airlea in persona. He constantly thought of this, but he just couldn’t but ask himself what if at any given moment. What if he were always there? What if his own father as still alive (or at least knew him)? Would he feel honoured or embarrassed of Airlea naming their son after him? Would he be both? Noctis imagined that his father would be playing it cool but he’d be screaming internally over how adorable the boy was, and how he could finally give someone parenting advice that he never really managed to succeed with. And maybe there’d be family outings to build the bonds again.

“Regis, Audacia told me you were out here instead of keeping an eye on your cousin.” Noctis held back his laugh as Airlea walked out onto the balcony, his eyes to the ground, and her voice carrying a hint of disappointment – not too much, just a small amount – whilst Regis rolled his eyes and looked back to the cityscape. “Ignis said I could be out here for a while. I guess Aunty didn’t hear him out fully.”

Airlea didn’t laugh or smile, simply rose a brow. “You feeling unwell?”

“A little.” He allowed her to press the back of her hand to his forehead. “I was holding Aura and Ignis was next to me. He asked me if I was okay and I said I was so I didn’t worry him, but he saw right through me and said that I could go out to cool down.”

“So you passed her to him?”

“Carefully, yeah. And then I looked for dad so I could let him know I was getting some fresh air. He was talking to some annoying noble with a frown –“

“The one with the cabbage shaped hat, neon green suit, orange tie, crooked, extremely jealous that his daughter isn’t in competition to be your step-mother?”

“Yeah, him. So I walked away and tried to find you. Couldn’t, asked the guys to get you – you know that story. So I got annoyed, again, and went to find dad, again. Couldn’t find him, felt worse, came out here, and then I found him.”

She laughed then, turning her head to look at Noctis, as if she knew he would be in that seat, and smiled like she hadn’t seen him in years. “Like father like son. See, Regis is definitely a Caelum at parties.”

“Not surprised. Parties are overrated.”

She laughed again. “Yes, but also a way to say ‘mess with me, and we’ll party over your corpses after throwing you where the daemon’s lay.” And then she stood, approaching him slowly. With a smile she wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing a small kiss to his lips. “How you feeling now?”

Noctis gave a sigh, his hands on her elbows. “I feel like…” He looked at Regis, who watched in silence, and then at her. “You need a break.”

She tilted her head from side to side, lips ever so slightly pushed out in agreement, and then she smiled. “Yeah I see why you think that. Buuuuut, you need to fully heal before –“

“Nuh-uh.” He interrupted her with a gentle touch of his finger to her lips. “What I need, is my son’s mother to rest and have time to spend with him everyday. He doesn’t like you looking like your going to collapse from exhaustion when your just walking along. He doesn’t want to make that call. And I don’t appreciate walking into our room after taking a shower to see you unwell.”

“Dad’s right mum.” Regis took Noct’s side. “You’re good at what you do and you’ve got things working, but please have a break this month. We’re worried for you.”

She hesitated, broke away from the hand, ran her fingers through her hair, and then sighed. “Okay. Looks like the council can have a longer Christmas break than I intended. They better love me after this.”

“Oh they will. If they don’t, they can come to me and I’ll tell them that you have driven yourself to sickness.” He gave her an innocent, affectionate grin. “Because you are a very silly woman.”

“Got to be to put up with your teenage antics.”

“Ah. Teen years. Yeah I was always embarrassed if you were nice to me.” He laughed at himself. “Remember when I had to pick you up from that after school thing on your birthday to go to the cinema, and I wore that leather jacket? And you asked me if I’d been working out more because when I took it off you were surprised with my arm muscles?”

“I didn’t realise you had biceps at fifteen, Noct. Seventeen? Hell yeah you did – good pillows. But I didn’t think at fifteen you’d have anything but a three pack or something.”

“Mother, you always start flirting in front of me.” It was clear Regis was embarrassed by his parents flirting torture on his young soul. “I’m going to find Uncle Ignis, he never does this.”

“Have you been working out?”

“Wha-“ Noctis was taken aback by the Sicarius who was more focused on lifting his arm and proding, squishing and being touchy feely with his bicep, instead of putting down the popcorn so she could seat easily.. All he did was wear a simple white shirt beneath his jacket, and he regretted taking off that jacket.

She seemed completely unphased by him pulling away, simply letting him go. “Sorry. It’s just, I don’t remember your muscles being that prominent.”

“They’re not that bad, Airlea. Chill, woman.” He shook his head. “Gladio’s just been doing heavier training so I can move onto two-handed next month.”

“Oh.” She handed him her popcorn as she sat, taking it back from him. “So you didn’t work off that whole pizza you ate at lunch?”

“I gave half of it to Prompto.” He grinned. “And Gladio managed to sneak in a small training session that had me thinking of cancelling.”

“That explains your tense shoulders.” Airlea never missed a thing. “Hey, after this I’ll give you a back massage.”

“No. It’s fine. I mean, it’s –“

“I know it’s my birthday.” Her head was on his shoulder in a blink. “But you’ve gone out of your for me today – I noticed you walking extremely close to me when the school bullies were walking by.” His face flushed. “So, I think you deserve it. And Gladio sneaking in that session probably means you missed your physio appointment.”

She knew he couldn’t argue. “Alright alright. Sure you won’t get distracted by possible back muscle?”

“Noct, I had to see it last week when I had to drag you to the bathroom so you could spew your guts up.” She was enjoying this. “I remember me cleaning you up and feeling really sad, and then you said ‘my nipps are bloody freezing here’. And you quickly fell asleep. On me. The one who didn’t want your sickness but looked after you anyway.”

“You’re kidding. I didn’t say that.”

“I know you did.” She huffed. “And then I had to carry you and I was hella embarrassed. Because Gladio walked in. With that look of ‘I’ll leave you two to it’. Because you were enjoying hugging me.”

Noctis felt his face redden. He thought that he was merely dreaming, not actually hugging her. He thought it was his head speaking, not his actual voice. He thought… And now Gladio suspected.. Gods Gladio suspected. Noct’s face got worse, and worse the more his mind thought about what Gladio suspected they were, or, even worse, he could have suspected that they… did the… the things that…

The cold can pressed against his forehead shocked him out of his thoughts, the cinema light now down and the film starting. He lowered his shoulders slowly, shakily grasping the cold cylinder full of his energy drink, his fingers accidentally brushing against hers, but not registering. What did register, was her hand grasping his own in silence, her head now closer to his neck.

He rose a brow. It was something she only did with his and her father – an act of trust and security. It was different to those of a friend. Usually she would just fall asleep on either him or Prompto, usually on their laps. He guessed that now her father was gone, he was the one she trusted most. Or maybe… No. Why would her heart be reaching for him? Regardless, he snaked an arm around her waist loosely. So she knew he was there of she needed to cling to him.

Always.

Now that Noctis could see Airlea fully in the orange hued lights, and he almost forgot how to breathe. He had forgotten how into the Christmas spirit she could get into, regardless of how busy she was. Her evening gown was speaking elegance and sophistication with it’s dark burgundy skirt of silk, bodice partly hidden with a shawl of dark velvet, white, synthetic fur running along it’s edges as it screamed ‘Christmas’. Her hair was curled, fringe pinned back. The only way he could describe it, was as if she was a roman goddess carrying around authority like she was the Queen and no one else could take that role away from her.

Everyone knew she carried an air of importance, yet she was still very much the selfless woman who hid detest well enough behind a smile, a laugh, a soft expression. More grace and kindness than power and sophistication. He wasn’t exactly sure. Because in a pair of jeans and trainers she was still reckless, fearless and utterly compelling whilst being clumsy and always banging her elbow on the same door handle.

It appeared that she had traded heels for a pair of flats (which was hidden by her dress) and she wore what always had him on his knees for her – that sultry black smokey eye, the silent promise of the dark, red lip. And the smile she wore as she walked to him very nearly had him on the floor.

When the song started, she stole his hand and dragged him to the centre of the room. Noctis felt his face warm, redden, his whole body becoming a sweating mess. Yet her hands – cold from the evening wind – against his face, seemed to calm him slightly. Her whisper of faith, the smile of belief….

It was just a waltz. Right?

“Prince, Regis! We’ve done it!”

There was the Christmas he knew.

The mood is right, the spirit’s up We’re here tonight and that’s enough Simply having a wonderful Christmas time Simply having a wonderful Christmas time

The party’s on, the feeling’s here That only comes this time of year Simply having a wonderful Christmas time Simply having a wonderful Christmas time

Love choir of children sing their song

Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong, ding Oo-oo-oo-oo Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo, doo

We’re simply having a wonderful Christmas time Simply having a wonderful christmas time

Noctis gave Airlea a wide smile, allowing her to lead him instead of it being the other way round. See, the thing was, she was having way more fun with this dance than him, but it soon began to rub off on him with the pace she had set, causing each other to stand on each other’s feet, trip over each other’s ankles, and still laugh about it.

It didn’t stop him from grasping her hand as she went to leave again (Gladio wanted to talk to her), and pulling her forcefully towards him, with his left arm both catching and stabilising her in a dip, he smirked in victory, brows only adding to the smug look.

The expression didn’t last for very long, their lips connecting for a (relatively speaking, considering these too are always kissing some when) brief moment before he stood her up again. He had planned to have the triumph appear on his face once more, but it never came, being replace with complete shock and surprise, his cheeks bright red, at Airlea getting her own back with a kiss far more passionate than they had ever done in a public setting.

“Ew! Parents! Ignis, can I go back outside again? I just spewed a little in my mouth.”

“Regis, don’t over exaggerate.”

“But Aunty Audacia – “

Prompto’s quick reflexes had him escorting the Prince out. “You know, I feel the same. I’ll take him for some air in the garden.”

Noctis nodded in acknowledgement. When he turned his head, Airlea was gone. And, again, Noctis was caught up in nobles attempting to make him change his mind. It got to the point where he marched to the stage and asked Audax to connect the microphone.

It was a simple task, but Noctis didn’t have time to hold back his annoyance at the situation. And he swore that today, he was going to state who he was going to marry (even though it was obvious) because the nobles simply weren’t getting it. Yet, when Noctis went to speak, Audax took the microphone.

“Good evening ladies and gents!” He was a little…enthusiastic. “His majesty wants to tell you something. So for Astral’s sake listen and respect his dicision as your King. Thank you.” He gave the microphone back to Noctis. And he cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Audax.” He stood confidently. “I decided to have this meeting of sorts as a way to tell you who your Queen will be. It should be of no surprise to any of who upon who my wife will be, especially if you knew me before the darkness. My love for Airlea has always helped me continue on, and it isn’t going to stop now.” He swallowed thickly. “Whilst you have been scrambling, trying to impress me, she has been running this country whilst I’ve been recovering. I will not sacrifice my happiness, or the rights of the country, for your desires to hold my hand.”

Audax soon took the microphone again. “So you lot can let my sister and my brother-in-law smile for a happy Lucis. Us Sicarius’ have done more for this country than you guys as the blade of the King. So if any of you attempt to plot an assassination attempt –“ Gladio passed him the infamous black book of the targets to kill. “You’ll be the next name to enter this book. And I will find you.”

Then he passed it to Ignis. “Audax simply means, Noctis wanted to marry Airlea long before they even began dating.

Noctis was already gone from the stage, having caught Airlea’s gaze, the curving finger as she gestured him to come towards her. So he went over to her, took her hand and pulled her into the quiet two corridors down. “I wondered where you went.”

“Oh, you know. Thought I should change my shoes. Heels are the worse creation man has ever created behind Niffelheim trying to hard to be the new Solheim empire.” She looked at him with a raised brow when he laughed. “I was being serious.”

Noctis tapered to a stop, his grin still lingering, his eyes still on hers. “I know.”

She blushed. “You know, at first I thought that at thirty you were ridiculously sexy.” He felt her hand on his chin, then the pat to his cheek. “But you are still so cute and adorable and I love that.”

Now, he blushed. “And you’re just as beautiful.” Yet he kept his cool façade, body still stood in confidence.

“Still wonder how I got you and you got me?”

“Sheer luck.”

Love choir of children sing their song They’ve practised all year long

Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong, ding dong Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong, ding dong

The party’s on, the spirit’s up We’re here tonight and that’s enough Oo-oo, simply having a wonderful Christmas time We’re simply having a wonderful Christmas time

Oh Oh yeah

In the ballroom, there were two men. Both old. Both fathers. Both grandparents who never got to hold their grandchild. Both had wanted to see this day, though they hoped to be alive. They were invisible, shrouded in the magic of the dead. People walked through them, saw through them, without a second glance.

“Regis, please don’t let the ice age melt now.” A hand went to the old King’s shoulder.

How could he not… not cry? How could he not let his emotions loose? “I’m proud of my son, Letalis. I will be emotional if I want.”

“I’m proud of him, too. And he’s not even my kid! I proud of all of them!” A laugh. “Look how happy the squad is! Laughing and joking. And your little boy is a grown man. See how he’s – “

“He was always protective. It’s nothing –“ A gasp and a point. “He’s got his arm around her waist and he’s glaring at the nobles! This is entertaining. Oh… Those two enjoy their kissing. I forget that.” He waved his hands. “Calm them down, my boy!”

“Regis, overreacting for cheek pecks, right?”

“He’s my son!”

“He’s thirty years old and already lost his virginity when you couldn’t get past first base.” A dry chuckle. “Let him have his adulthood, my friend.”

With a huff Regis went to complain, but his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. His son was leaving the party early, following Airlea’s sultry finger curl and gesture and… “Where’s a good golfing place, Letalis?”

“Let me see…” A quick phone check. “Mister E Drybones is at your favourite, I’m afraid, old chap.” Mister E Drybones was the code name for Ardyn. Both hated the man. “But it seems – no. The Niffs have control of that one.” Another second. “But I did just book us a fishing spot all too ourselves.”

“Even better, then. Let’s leave them to… adult. Yes?”

The Sicarius laughed. “It amuses me how you classified yourself as a womaniser, set on wooing the ladies, yet you can’t even say ‘sex’ or ‘sexual intercourse’ without blushing.”

“Letalis, I will find your grave and dump cats on it.”

“Sorry, Majesty.”

And the two walked away to let their happy children… adult.

The mood is right, the spirit’s up We’re here tonight and that’s enough We’re simply having a wonderful Christmas time Simply having a wonderful Christmas time Simply having a wonderful Christmas time

Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh For Christmas time Christmas time

#christmas countdown 2017 #final fantasy xv christmas countdown #final fantasy xv #noctis lucis caelum #noctlea #noctis x oc #final fantasy xv fanfiction

1 note · View note

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

Intra Unum Diem Vitae - Chapter 20

A Noctis fanfiction

Title Translation: One more day inside this life

Words: 2, 687

Note: A few flashbacks and a terrible chapter overall XD I have been burdened with school so for that reason Requests are on hold. Sorry!

Also if you want to create anything for Noctlea, just do it and tag me! Because I’mma gonna tell ya now, I am Noctlea trash XD

Tagging: @chocohoess @cerasusazule @thefriendlytonberry @jojopitcher @final-fantasy-xv-imagines @1000wolfloverand @bluefirefox23! Thank you for any kind things you’ve told me about this fic. I really appreciate it!

If anyone wants to be tagged please don’t be afraid to contact me!

It couldn’t have been possible. It shouldn’t have been happening. Noctis shouldn’t have been kissing her. Airlea shouldn’t have been kissing him. Sure, they were together but... it was honestly so wrong. He had to marry Lunafreya. In doing this, he was breaking that treaty. But Astrals it felt so... so right. To just hold her in his arms in the citadel walls, the door to his bedroom locked and the windows only partially open, the lights lit dimly and the scent of her perfume – night orchids and vanilla with a hint of peony – just moulding into a sweet scent as her temperature rose.

Gods it was so wrong to just have his arms around her waist, her frame slightly tilted back and her fingers ghosting over his sides from underneath his shirt. Her hands were cold, causing his sides to shudder at her touch. He was falling, he was falling hard. He was falling into a bottomless pit of fire and there was no way out but to burn.

Her back came into contact with his desk and her legs were quick to wrap around his waist, her hands even quick to remove his tee from his person and her lips quicker to be on his. Astrals, how intense was she?

He bit her lower lip and then brought his lips to her neck, lightly biting and sucking at her sensitive skin. Oh. Astrals. Those sighs were like music to his –

Noct’s eyes shot open at the knock on his door. What... What sort of dream was that? Okay so maybe he loved – no he didn’t love her. Nope nope nope. He loved Luna not Airlea and he would like it to stay that way. Afterall, Airlea was a friend. Not –

Another knock.

-not someone to – God what was he even thinking? He argued with himself as he got out of bad, eyes narrowed and – Astrals if the knocking got even worse he was going to have to throw a punch. So he opened the door to his apartment, thoroughly surprised to see Prompto breathing heavily and completely terrified. “It’s Airlea! You’ve gotta – “

“Where is she?”

“She’s just outside the –“

“Okay just give me thirty seconds and I’ll be right back!” Noctis ran back into his room, tripping up over the blanket he had managed to kick off him in the middle of the night, grabbing and quickly changing into fresh clothes, slipping on his pair of trainers and nabbing his jacket before dashing back to the front door – his hair still dishevelled – and he slammed the door shut behind him, fumbling with card to lock the door. “Lead the way!”

He followed Prompto, legs wanting to murder him for making him run quickly so early in the morning, knees still hurting from when he fell over his own blanket. And god if his heart wasn’t already worried sick over her it certainly was now that he was panicking.

Was she okay? Was she hurt? Was she in an accident? Was she going to die? Would he ever get the chance to tell her that he loved her? Wait...what? He. Didn’t. Love. Airlea. Sicarius. He stopped running then, finding Airlea with blood down her cheek. She was sat on the bottom stair to the library, waving aside everyone who tried to help her, refusing anyone’s offer to take her to the hospital.

He found himself running towards her as she stood – apparently annoyed with the attention she was being given – and he quickly crashed into her, giving her the tightest hug he possibly could without hurting her. She was tense for a brief moment but he felt her relax quickly and he let go. “I... um...” He brought his hand behind his neck, felt his cheeks burn at the sight of her own blushing face. “Are you... okay?” She only nodded. “What... what happened?”

Airlea put her weight onto her left foot, arms now folded. “A man tried to get me into his car after I politely declined, and then he decided to bring you into the equation and I threw a punch. If I had known he was going to try and stab me I would gotten out of dodge sooner.” She then raised her voice as the offender was being eased into the police car. “Because no one speaks ill of the royal family to me and expect to come out undamaged!”

Noctis couldn’t help but smile. Gods, he loved Airlea Sicarius: one of his best friends, childhood friend, future blade to work with his shield and she could go from being sickly sweet to sassy savage.

Even now with blood running down her face, brows narrowed in annoyance and lips curved into a scowl, she was crazily beautiful. Even in her mismatched red thigh dress and black leggings with white socks and red trainers, she was gorgeous. The fact that she was confident in her clothes and uncaring about the stares she had found herself earning, was crazy yet completely inspiring.

And even if she ended up littering crumbs upon her lap if she ate or went to drink but completely missed the opening of the can, bottle or simply took too much liquid and it just rolled down her chin or went up her nose, he found it so adorable how she could just wipe it away with her sleeve and shrug it off as if it was normal. Because it was so her and so different to how he was taught.

She had table manners, but she didn’t care if a chip covered in tomato ketchup fell onto her jumper or if her fingers became sticky from eating peaches or plums or apples or strawberries. Because she couldn’t help it. Yet was still polite: yes please, no thank you, keeping up a conversation when spoken to or staying in silence if not. She would excuse herself from the table as if she were oh a higher status than what she was: working class.

His father had tried so hard to push the Sicarius name back up to it’s wealthier routes considering they did so much more than the rest of the Council combined. Of course the Council declined, said it was for ‘personal gain’ despite the clear poverty beginning to develop – especially now that all of her family bar her Grandpa and baby brother were gone. Yet still, she never complained. Not once. She never asked for anything, yet any revision books she was given from himself or his father – or even any of the crownsguard – had her smile in so much gratitude. But nothing was more like gold than a hug, or a thank you to her.

And that? That was what made her even more beautiful. She never asked for anything but kindness in return to her own, how all she ever wanted was to be respected and not stared at for simply being a Sicarius. A tragedy. A woman in a ‘man’s’ job. An eighteen year old woman just trying to make a living on the 10,000 gil she warned a year in a part time job because the council wouldn’t allow her a pay rise because she was a ‘maid and not royalty’. His father tried so hard to give her extra pocket money to go into savings – or even get some groceries so she wouldn’t have to – but she always refused.

Always.

“Come on, let’s get you to A and E so it can get checked out.” Noctis grinned , throwing an arm around her shoulder. “Then I’m going to take you two out for a good meal.”

“Seriously, Noct, I have food at home.”

“I’d hardly call one cake, a packet of crackers and rusks lunch.” Prompto walked on the opposite side, smiling matter of factly. “It’s no wonder why you’ve been dead all week.”

She pouted but soon shrugged with a smile. “Gosh you’re so right. But those baby biscuits are so damn good.”

“Noct, I’m being serious. Let me pay for my food.”

Noct shook his head. “Use your hard-earned money on your family. Allow us to treat you today.” He could see the cogs turning in her head, here eyes focused on his own, drawing him into the deepest parts of her soul, as if she wanted him to know... She closed the gates off to him, looking down at the five gil in her hand.

“Oh... Fine. Only because you... won’t stop grinning.” She was... her face was... wa- was she... blushing? Gods if she was he was falling deeper, heading going past the point of denial... He felt his face warm, a sweat prick at his back, yet he had no idea if it was from her, or his acknowledgement of his –

The plates were placed in front of the trio, their drinks soon following, and they verbalised their thanks. Noctis almost found it amusing how Airlea just dug straight in before stopping and smiling in embarrassment, quietly apologising. Honestly? So long as she ate they didn’t care. So long as it could be a distraction for her, he didn’t care.

“Just enjoy the food, Airlea.” And he smiled at her. He felt his heart pound against his chest like a peach ripe enough to burst, felt his mind go to keeping her safe...

I love her.

And yet his heart sank at the idea that they could never be together.

Noctis slipped his phone into his pocket: same spot as last time. It was the only clue Airlea gave to her whereabouts, which was one hundred per cent helpful when he wasn’t paying any attention. He gathered that if he kept to the lake, he’d be able to find her easily. But why did she walk away when all she had to do was sit in one place with Audacia.

...

Wait...

Audacia. A dragoon. A female Crudelis. A coward. Someone who viewed everyone as a problem and wanted nothing to do with them....

Audacia Sicarius, whose name meant courage and righteousness, was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. At least as far as Airlea was concerned.

“Airlea!?” He called out to her, for her, needing some sort of reply to know exactly where she was. But there was nothing. Never. Not once was there a reply: never a ‘Noct’ or a ‘here’. Just the silence, welcoming him into it’s cold embrace of the westerly winds.

He reached into his pocket and took out his phone, dialling her number and pressing the device to his ear, practically praying that she would answer before the storm came – thunder rolling vaguely in the background, a growing dark cloud approaching steadily but quickly, a bitter chin running through his bones bringing up goosebumps upon his arms and the small amount of skin showing on his legs.

“Hello?”

“Airlea, where are you?” As relieve as he was, he was still worried. Who wouldn’t be? “There’s a storm coming in and I can’t have you alone when –“

“I’m in the Regalia.” She seemed... shaken. Rattled. “I was about to call you – look, just get here.” She hung up. Just like that.

And he ran.

Ran was an understatement.

Noctis acted as if it were a life and death situation. To hear from Gladio that she had involved herself into a fight kicked him off, his heart pounding, breaths amplified to his ears as if he was focused on one thing: finding her. He was told that she was at the park and then he was off. No questions asked.

At first he thought it to be easy, breaking up the situation, but it had already been broken. And Airlea was on her knees, smiling at a young girl, whose hands were on their head: make it stop.

“Shhh. You’re alright now. They won’t bother you anymore. And if they do, fight back. Show them that you are worth so much more than they think you are.” She held his hands and moved them away. “More than you believe you are.”

Noctis felt himself smile as he watched, as she lifted her head to see him, eyes light and free.

“Look at the Prince over there. The people think he has an easy life – but he doesn’t. Just like the rest of us, his life is hard: trying not to disappoint others is a curse.” She continued, softly, whilst never taking her eyes from his. “They also think him as ‘unemotional’ and ‘dead inside’. But do you want to know what I see?”

The girl looked at him, confused yet awestruck. “A Prince?” Airlea’s giggle caused the girl to look at her. “What do you see, Miss Airlea?”

“I see a young man who is so, so kind. So sweet. I see more than a prince, I see a friend. And a friend is more valuable than a prince yet has no price.” And she looked at the girl. “Friends are worth more than any money you can ever make. They are worth what you have never been given: love. That is why I would sooner die, than betray him.”

Noctis closed the Regalia door behind him, grateful that he had managed to get in before the storm came and the heaven’s burst, unleashing the rains caused by the tears of the gods and the Astral’s. The thunder clearly the anger of the Fulgarian.

Another Astral may have fallen...

Yet, at that moment, Noctis couldn’t care less. He looked to Airlea, who looked exhausted, eye lids falling to a close before opening slowly again, looking up at him as if he had always been there.

“Noct? You came...”

“Yeah.” He smiled slightly, allowing her to use his shoulder to rest her head. He looked at her injury: it was small, not nearly as bad as everyone had assumed. “You okay?”

“Yeah...” She played with his jacket. “Just... I don’t know...tired. Running is so... so hard...”

Noctis moved slightly, fingers entangling into her hair, careful not to pull or tug at any knots. “I guess.”

“Why is it so tiring? Running? Running from a problem that you didn’t create, running from a problem that you can solve but it’s –“

“Way too complicated....” When she looked up at him, he saw the agreement within her irises. “You know it’ll never be the same. You’re scared to solve it in case you get it completely wrong if you put in too much effort.” And he smiled. “Stop running if you’re tired. We’ll help you and Audacia get back to the way things were. Together. Even if it takes ten years we’ll do it. All you need to do, is trust in me.”

“I’ll always trust in you, Noct.”

Getting back to Caem was the easiest part. But having to be squashed further in the car was a hazard. She tried to persuade Ignis to let her drive whilst the rain pounded upon her skull, but he, obviously, refused. It was then down to him, or Audacia... And she honestly voted for Ignis. She trusted him.

And everyone knew it.

But Noctis could see how uncomfortable Airlea was having to sit next her older sister, face furrowed into a pout and a frown, irises full of uncertain uneasiness. They’d had to stop before to get some over-the-counter painkillers, in case her head started throbbing uncontrollably.

The silence created a deep tension that made everyone knew that she was thinking. Hard.

“I’m sorry.” The apology that slipped out of her mouth was...unexpected, completely out of the blue and uncalled for. But it was quiet, as if she was still thinking over why she was saying sorry in the first place. “For... not trusting you...”

Audacia merely shrugged, as if it wasn’t the first time she’d been given a hard week. “Don’t be. You have every reason to, Airlea. I failed to let you know my plan personally, which led to miscommunication. I went back to the Dragoons to keep Crudelis off your scent and onto m. I guess his trail went cold...” Another shrug. “Besides, I wasn’t there when you needed me. I’m sorry for that.”

“Yeah...”

#intra unum diem vitae #iudv #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x oc #noctis fanfic #noctlea #final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #final fantasy fanfic #final fantasy fanfiction #final fantasy xv fanfiction

9 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

Genetics these days (Noctlea)

This is 100% humour because today I need it XD Again a big thanks t o @1000wolflover for letting me post these MMD pics she sent me of some Noctlea XD

So the story behind this: MMD was giving Wolfie a li’le trouble - only instead of it being Noct it was Airlea. So I joked ‘Airlea’s parents may have forgotten to warn Noct of this genetic defect’ and a whole story was born!

I’m going to tag @jojopitcher @neko-otaku13 @insomniasix and @bluefirefox23 because.... why not? XD This is older Noctlea but nothing spoilery because hahahahahahaha XD

Super short but completely from the top of my head XD

Songs I llistened to whilst writing: Song of the Stars - ffxv Wander’s Lullaby - Adriana Figueroa Prayer de Luna - FFXV Somnus Ultima - FFXV Look Back See The Frog - FFIX Trouble - P!nk

(oopsie smol image XD)

Honestly, it was a little bit of a shock to wake up with her shoulder in absolute agony (probably worse than being attacked by a horde of daemons not gonna lie) and her pillow in absolute tatters.

Now, she was very very confused as to why her shoulder was looking... different and she honestly thought nothing of it.... At first. That all changed when she left the tent to head to Insomnia...

The boys stared at her whilst Ignis listened to music as he made a start on breakfast. “Um...Airlea...your...” Prompto pointed at her shoulder. “Your shoulder.”

She tilted her head. “What about it?”

Gladio also tilted his head, though not in confusion like she did. “It’s a bit...horny.”

“Horny?” She scoffed. “How can my shoulder be - “ she looked at her shoulder.”- horny!”

Now. That would explain everything.... But not exactly Noct’s absolute look of horror. “Airlea, was that there last night? I don’t remember it being -”

“Of course you wouldn’t remember if it was there last night.” Gladio spoke matter-of-factly. You were a little...preoccupied with -”

“Shut up, Gladio, I know what I was doing.” The bright red upon his face was the most adorable thing she had ever seen. “It most definitely wasn’t there when I woke up this morning.That shoulder was my pillow.”

Airlea gave his face a pat. “It wasn’t there last night, no.” She shrugged. “But hey, gives me another weapon right? I can shoulder barge those daemons - including Ardyn if he’s going to behave for once in his life - and be a little bit of a maniac.”

Noctis shook his head. “No. No. No.”

“Oh c’mon -”

“NO.” He shook his so vigorously that when he stopped Airlea had to hold his head in place so he wouldn’t topple over. “You will not be so reckless. You’ve been way too reckless for my liking - I heard about all the things you did. I will not let it happen again until you -”

Ignis chuckled - well it was more like a ‘pfffft’ thing that he quickly stopped. “Noct, it’s a simple genetic defect. Easily fixed.”

Noctis looked at her seriously. “When were going to tell us this, Airlea?”

There was a pause where she blinked her surprised eyes for a moment before returning to her calmer state. “It skips a few generations. I didn’t realise that my dad was the last generation to be skipped out of five.”

Noctis... facepalmed. Hard. She could hear the slap to his forehead and already see the red mark forming from behind his palm. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“I mean, I knew I could be a prick to daemons but I didn’t realise I was extremely prickly.”

Ignis stifled his laughter once again. But Noct? Well, he looked straight at Prompto, palm still against his forehead, who was the filming the whole thing, with an exasperated look. His eyes were straight in the camera lens and he spoke quietly.... “Astrals help me.”

#noctlea #noctis x oc #noctis lucis caelum #final fantasy xv fanfiction

11 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

Intra Unum Diem Vitae - Chapter 19

A Noctis fanfiction

Title Translation: One more day inside this life

Chapter Summary:Ya I stop these

Words: 3,540

Note: A random flashback but I thought it could help my brain! Nearly fainting is hella difficult to describe I swear to the lord above. I’m planning on doing some Airlea aesthetics (pfft they gonna be so terrible) so if you wanna help me out or do some yourself, don’t be afraid to lemme know or just do it!

I am very sorry for the lack of Vesperpool in the ‘vesperpool’ chapter, buuuuut this is what my brain wanted and it is what happened. This is why I do not use plans XD

Also, please send in requests! I’m always open!

Also if you want to create anything for Noctlea, just do it and tag me! Because I’mma gonna tell ya now, I am Noctlea trash XD

Tagging: @chocohoess @cerasusazule @thefriendlytonberry @jojopitcher @final-fantasy-xv-imagines @1000wolflover and @bluefirefox23! Thank you for any kind things you’ve told me about this fic. I really appreciate it!

If anyone wants to be tagged please don’t be afraid to contact me!

Airlea walked carefully through the dark passages, frowning at the flickering of her torch. Of course it was dying. Just what she needed whilst she was miffed. Of course, Audacia constantly tried to talk to her – ha! It wasn’t exactly easy to forgive a Niff. Sure, she was a Lucian. Once. Before she joined the damn Dragoons that listened to the Emperor’s orders – and her presence at Insomnia, knowing exactly where she was, was shady as heck.

Airlea was overreacting? The thought crossed her mind more than once, but she honestly had no care in the world right now. The closer they got to Altissia, the more she felt the walls closing in on her. She hated it, but Audacia obviously only cared for Ignis – not family, not friends, just one guy who she hurt.

She only apologised to him. Not to her. To her, Audacia only gave an explanation – a simple ‘i left to protect you’. Really? If that was the case she wasn’t very good at her job.

Besides, attacking Noctis for absolutely no reason? If Audacia thought Airlea was going to forgive her, she had better think again. “Airlea...” Airlea just continued walking, a frown clearly visible upon her face, making no move to talk. “Come on you can’t just ignore me.”

Prompto scoffed. “She has a right to not talk to you: freedom of speech, privacy and she can do whatever she wants.”

“Don’t bring ‘human rights’ into this, Prompto.”

“He can do whatever he likes. Free country.” Gladio agreed. “And you did ignore her a few hours ago.”

Airlea heard Audacia scoff, mumble an insult or five. She rolled her eyes. It didn’t matter what she thought anyway. Audacia was just a Lucian turned Niff who claimed to remain loyal to the crown despite her attacking the Prince for a reason that was beyond her, though it wasn’t a surprise either since she probably had a chip in her neck or something that was controlling her.

Airlea didn’t care for that either. If she truly did leave to protect her, she wouldn’t have turned her back on her as soon as she could. Why care for someone who didn’t care? It would only cause an agonising amount of pain, and she was already starting to feel it mentally the closer to Altissia they became.

Like it really mattered anymore – marrying Noct to Luna wasn’t the aim anymore, it was getting back that crystal. And Airlea didn’t want to go near that thing...

“Airlea, you should be –“

“I know I should be with Noct, sire. But I needed air.” Airlea was caught walking down the corridor to the Citadel Gardens in the early morning, the King stopping her in the middle of the corridor when her legs started to fail. Thankfully, he managed to support her before she fell even though she shook like crazy.

Sweat beaded upon her face, hair clinging to her skin, burning and melting from the horrors of the nightmare she had just experienced. At least, she hoped that’s what it was.... She could still here the voice, the macabre joy it held, the countdown until ‘the ascension’. What ascension? What the hell was going on? Was she okay? Was she just hallucinating? Was it just her greatest fears of being stalked by a creepy crystal just coming to haunt her for no reason in particular? Or was it... true?

Was all that talk of death, of daemons patrolling the earth and eradicating all life on Eos just a bluff? Or was it true? Was the deep, mystical voice, seeking revenge and utter destruction, just a figment of her imagination? Or was it real? And was the image of a dead King on his throne – no.... it... it couldn’t be... could it? It was impossible for it to –

Regis’s cold hand upon her forehead jolted her from her thoughts. “You do look pale...” He stood slowly, hand at her shoulder blades. “Let’s go outside for a while.”, Airlea nodded slowly, following him from a few steps back. It was awkward for her to be following the King – usually she wasn’t to even be seen walking down the corridor at his side, through fear that the servants would think of her as a favourite. She didn’t see herself as such, simply as a friend. Was it wrong for her to be friends with the King? That’s what the servants thought.

It seemed to her that Regis understood her dilemma, showing a smile and offering a light chuckle whilst he slowed down his stride to walk next to her. The next thing he did was place his hand upon her shoulder blades – simply in assurance – and he allowed her to be the first into the garden, to choose a seat she wanted.

She couldn’t understand why some people thought him to not be a gentleman. He was kind, selfless, opening doors and pulling back chairs for his guests. He was gentle, polite... respectful. He really did put the people and his family in front o his own selfish needs. Though, he had been known to be late to a few meetings because he was stuck in traffic after going out to the closest Crow’s Nest for some good old fashioned fish and chips with a root beer.

He didn’t sit on the bench she had chosen, which sat beneath the tallest tree. Amber leaves hung gracefully from their boughs, the last of the tree’s summer blossom falling elegantly through the night’s tranquil breeze. Rather, the King knelt in front of her, dark hair swaying softly with the breeze, eyes glimmering with the serenity of kindness and acts of selflessness.

She trusted him. She could tell him.

“Is...everything okay?” Regis held her hands – which were situated in her lap – and she knew he was concerned. Airlea could see the clogs turning, the concern slowly starting to swallow up the kindness within his eyes. He could have been thinking completely the wrong things: an argument, a death a – a terrible situation in which no one should have to go through.

“I...” She shifted slightly, “I fell asleep. Me and Noct were messing around, joking about this and that, making plans for when he would be able to go out of the castle... but... I... Well, we ended up falling asleep. And... I had the... strangest... nightmare. It was....so real...so familiar – “

“Like you knew it was going to happen one day?”

The Kings words shocked her, the seriousness and familiarity to the experience clear within those neutral eyes that never failed to show her his true emotions. “Y-Yes...” His expression signalled her to continue. “Um, there was the crystal – or a crystal... it was...talking... that so many will die before the chosen –“

She stopped talking, Regis cupping her face so gently. “Shhhh. We don’t have to discuss this tonight. Perhaps if it comes again we can talk about it. But, for now –“ He smiled kindly, fingers – cold from the autumnal chill – running over her hairline as he brought her side fringe behind her ear – “Let’s get you back to Noct. There is no doubt that he is awake and confused.”

The crystal had terrified her beyond belief, the same dream occurring over and over until one day she couldn’t contain it anymore, telling her father who quickly brought her into a meeting with the King...

The prophecy was her nightmare – the monster that hid under her bed, the treaty that kept the prince locked to something he didn’t want to do, the fires that burned Insomnia to the ground, the venom that ran through her blood whenever Ardyn opened his mouth...

It was as if a snake had sank it’s fangs into her flesh, the daemons whose claws she still felt ripping at her skin. It was as if she had been stabbed in the back by the very crystal she was having to save...

Airlea crouched down, examining the bridges. She had managed to peel away from the group, going off into the lead. Being near Audacia wasn’t helping her focus on the task at hand, only reminding her that somewhen there was going to be an argument. Again. And she wanted to stay clear of it.

“Who do you think you are, Aranea?”

“Aw, sweetheart. Get a grip and stop whining. You made a mistake. Acknowledge it and apologise like an older sister and not a little child who constantly demands forgiveness without doing anything to warrant it.”

“But – “

"Shut it! Both of you!” Airlea stood, now thankful for the quiet, and looked around the room with the crossroads. It was dark, the air still. It was tense, full of anger, illness. Something was amiss. Something with these bridges, perhaps? But when she looked at them, there was nothing different between them – no cracks, screws, misplaced stones, pressure plates, hidden buttons. Nothing...

She paced around the platform, horizontally, vertically, around the edges... still, nothing. She quickly checked her phone – five in the morning.... She had two hours to get out again. Well, they had two hours. Slipping it back into her pocket, she started to walk down the closest bridge... Big. Mistake.

Cracks started forming around her feet, her mind whirring for something to focus on rather than how far the drop was gonna be. But it all happened in a matter of seconds, her falling before the rest of the bridge, the hard landing on her feet, the fall to the ground from the impact, the slabs of stone that fell around her, the clouds of dust, the heavy coughing from the millennia old mix of air and dirt threatening to go into her lungs...

She didn’t care for the creaking metal appearing in front of her, her body sore and numb from the landing. It was as if she had been scratched at by fifty cats, skin throbbing against her clothes, her head pounding like it had just been rammed into a wooden table during a fist fight... Her eyes were closed tightly as she tried to focus, tried to ignore the blood that ran down her forehead, between her brows, down the side of her nose.

She tried not to think upon how bad the injury was whilst she lifted her head, tried not to think about how she was going to fight as she began to stand. The pain had began to ebb away, she didn’t feel light headed. She crossed the possibility of a concussion from her mind as well as any brain damage. She could remember everything – usually you would forget a certain amount of time before and after the incident.

All she had to do was fight her way out. Right?

“Bombs away!”

Airlea shielded her face as Prompto threw in a fire flask – which just so happened to be a quadcast of firaga...

Why? Just... Just why? As if she didn’t just have over two thousand year old dust in her lungs anyway – she had even more to cause her to cough uncontrollably. And when she looked up, she was met with a quick decision... She rolled to her right, narrowly missing the angered strike, and went into a standing position. Her head throbbed like no tomorrow, practically threatening to explode as the daemon fell. She was wobbly on her feet, a little light headed.

Nothing she hadn’t experienced before. She would be alright in a matter of minutes. Right?

The hand she placed upon her injury was moved, her panicked breathing calmed by the grasp on her wrists. “Airlea, look at me.” She looked up and saw Audacia in front of her, dark green eyes concerned. She raised a finger and moved it from side to side, Airlea keeping her eyes on it as if it was a medical examination.

“How... How is she?” The question came from Prompto, the heavy sigh from Gladio, the glance of assurance to Prompto from Ignis.

“Her vision’s good, hearing seems okay.” Audacia gave Airlea’s shoulder a light pat. “Can you tell me how you got your head injury?”

“I was examining the bridges in case of a trap. They all seemed the same so I chose the one that, according to the map, was the right direction. As you can see, it was a booby trap to stop us and I fell along with it.”

“And memory seems to be in order. Can you also tell me why you’re annoyed with me?”

Airlea shook her head. “Not until you tell me where Noct is.”

“Focus with the present is also as observant as ever.” Ignis stopped Audacia from talking. “He’s gone ahead to see if there’s a suitable spot for us to clean you up.”

She rose a brow. “But us I hope it means ‘Audacia is not allowed to touch Airlea until further notice.” She shot a glare at the dragoon who promptly released her wrists. “Prompto, tell me the complete truth. Where is Noctis?”

Prompto shifted his weight onto his right foot, arms around his torso in an attempt to keep the chill at bay. “He’s just coming round the –“

Airlea shot a look down the corridor, the sound of fighting stopping the conversation. It was angered, quick, desperate. Grunts of effort clear as day. There was a battle going on down there. And Airlea – injured or no – wasn’t going to let the daemons win. She made it perfectly clear of that as she began storm down the way, bow notched and ready to go within her grasp. Any pleas of her not to fell on deaf ears.

Noctis should have had an extra force, another –

“Airlea, three o’clock.” The younger Sicarius reached out, taking hold of the imp and threw it into the opposite wall.

Noctis should have had an escort, someone else for the daemons to attack. He shouldn’t have been alone.

Airlea soon began to run into the open corridor, eyes narrowed until a group of daemons were in sight, fighting the flashes of blue within the middle. She looked behind, Prompto being right beside her. “Prompto, open a flask. We’ll have five seconds to do this.”

He didn’t ask any questions, simply taking a flask of ice and opening it a few millimetres. It was enough for the arrow to be iced over. He swiftly closed it up and allowed it to return to the place were items of magic lived. She looked back to the daemons, blew on the arrow softly, mumbling a few words, before releasing it from it’s string, summoning her sword instead as she began to run over to the fighting spot.

When the arrow landed, it exploded into a cloud of ice shards, harming all but Noctis. And as the dust cloud began to settle, all the daemons could see was her, sword raised as she cut through the thick mist. The last thing the would see, was the fire rolling in from behind her...

Airlea breathed heavily, head banging. Her vision began to turn: a purple haze mixed with dark blue clouds began to swim in front of the setting. She felt light headed even still, her heart pounding in her chest louder than the voices around her, her breathing louder than that. At first she was calm, thinking ‘it’ll go in a few seconds’ but when it didn’t, when the realisation of it all sunk in, her temperature rose to an unbearable height – sweat pricked at her forehead, trickled down her back. She couldn’t think, could barely register the panic in the voices of the others. The hands on her face were cold, her vision unfocused and covered in a dark mist, disabling her sight.

She wanted to take a step forward, but she knew she would fall. She was terrified, paralyzed into place as her chest started tightening, eyes watering, breathing turning difficult. But she had to try. Maybe it would help? Airlea took a risk, putting a foot forward, but her legs collapsed from beneath, her lower limbs feeling like jelly, there yet unable to hold her wait.

“I’ve got you.”

Noct’s words were faint against the piercing sound of her heart racing, the panic within her breath. His hold upon her waist was the only thing that allowed her to recognise who it was... It was obvious that the group had gotten the message.

As her vision began to return, her body calming down, a sickness, heavy within her stomach, arose and her temperature stayed high. Her legs still felt unmovable yet very much alive, for she could feel how cold Prompto’s arms were from where his skin touch bared leg from the rising of her jeans.

Her eyes were heavy, yet she knew she would not be able to sleep. She felt Prompto lower her legs, Noctis setting her gently onto the floor. And Airlea took his hand, looking up at him, pleadingly: Don’t leave me.

“How’s your body now?” He was smiling, crouching down.

“I can see you now, I can hear properly now. I think... I think I’ll be able to walk now.”

He shook his head. “No walking. We’ll meet you at the entrance, alright?” He looked over her. “Audacia, get her outside and checked out.”

Airlea scoffed. “You trust her to take care of me? I want to stay with you! I’ve been knocked out and thrown around by the enemy through no fault of my own and this is what happens? Can I no long complete a single –“

“Airlea, listen to me.” For some reason, Noct still spoke calmly, restrained annoyance clear in his tone, but it was calm enough to be unnoticeable by people who didn’t know him. “You’re head comes first – I don’t want you dying, okay?” His hands were cold upon her cheeks. “You’re pale, sick, bleeding constantly. Aranea’s go on ahead to see which way’s the right way. I’ve managed to work a pad that will take you back to the entrance.” His thumbs ran across her cheekbones. “We’ll be behind you. Promise.”

“All done.” The front line doctor was quick to stitch up her wound, yet he often glowered at her, probably recognising her face. “Stitches will need to be taken out in about seven weeks. The lightheaded situations might continuing happening for the next few days though it does depend on the situation. I’d recommend taking some ibuprofen every two days for the next two weeks should you have any headaches or pains.” He looked at Audacia then. “Audacia, I know you told me that Airlea was dating the Prince, but why didn’t you tell me that they are genuinely in -”

“Because I respect her privacy, Private.” She shrugged. “Besides, it was also none of your business. And it definitely wasn’t your business to ask around and see who my boyfriend was at the time I left Insomnia. You’d do well to remember that you were a fling, a one night deal.”

Airlea stood then. “Thank you doctor, but I’m afraid I must go. You see, one of my friends has asked me to take photos of the lake at dawn to go into his scrapbook.” She glared at Audacia. “And you, feel lucky I respect your privacy better than you respect mine.”

“Oh come on, Airlea. You can’t just walk away and leave Noctis confused as hell about where you are...”

“Good thing I have signal then. “

“Look, I have no idea why you hate me –“

“Hate is an understatement.”

“- and I have no idea what I have done to you –“

“Oh you know well enough what you’ve done.”

“- But I’m sorry.”

Airlea rose a brow. “Sorry? For what? Existing? You just told me that you have no idea what you’ve done. So why are you apologising?”

There was a silence as Audacia looked to the side, to the floor and then at her again. She spoke gently, though the more she spoke the more passionate she became. “I’m sorry for leaving with no note, for not saying goodbye. I’m sorry for not being there when you needed me the most, when you felt alone despite having your friends with you all the time. I’m sorry for not being there to help with Audax, or the funeral costs, or help with your education. I’m sorry I couldn’t see you when you finished school, or take you to prom. I’m sorry for ignoring your existence yesterday. And I’m sorry for attacking Noctis with no reason whatsoever. I’m sorry for not being there.”

Airlea looked at her from over her shoulder, face full of grief and remorse. “Tell that to dad next time.”

“But he’s –“

“I know he’s dead, Audacia!” Airlea laughed dryly. “He was so proud of you. And for what? Nothing! Because all you did was against everything he stood for!”

“I left to protect you, Airlea!”

“Protecting me is not good enough! I’ve had to protect myself every single godforsaken day since you left! If you were any good at protecting, you would have killed Crudelis when you had the chance.”

Airlea turned her back on Audacia as she walked away, clambering over stone and ruin and rotten tree, Audacia’s protests falling on deaf ears...

#intra unum diem vitae #iudv #noctlea #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x oc #noctis x airlea #final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #final fantasy fanfic #final fantasy fanfiction #final fantasy xv fanfiction

8 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

Intra Unum Diem Vitae - Chapter 21

A Noctis fanfiction

Title Translation: One more day inside this life

Words: 2, 060

Note: -

Also if you want to create anything for Noctlea, just do it and tag me! Because I’mma gonna tell ya now, I am Noctlea trash XD

Tagging: @chocohoess @cerasusazule @thefriendlytonberry @jojopitcher@final-fantasy-xv-imagines @1000wolfloverand @bluefirefox23! Thank you for any kind things you’ve told me about this fic. I really appreciate it!

If anyone wants to be tagged please don’t be afraid to contact me!

It was cold upon Airlea’s skin, the blustering winds of the coast crashing into her face, the night’s storm heavy with anger and remorse. Waves crashed against the rocks as they fought, horses of sea foam emerging from the depths only to crash into the Land’s defences and fall back down from whence they came. Lightning struck down those who did not try, who did not put in any effort, who just ran.

Running.

Metaphorically running was emotionally draining, kickstarting every single negative thought that she had ever come across, stopping her from putting in any effort, stopping her from wanting to make things better... Stopping her from wanting to make an effort, making her think if I do it it’s going to just crumble and hurt me even more in the future. Might as well not bother. It’ll save me from the pain.

And she hated herself for believing that. It was unnecessary and not at all Airlea. The Airlea she knew was optimistic, even if it was forced she never failed to show the hope in which she believed in if she thought hard enough. But now? Why would she care? She apologised, Audacia apologised, Noctis apologised later that day for the argument, Audacia accepted it and apologised back.

Audacia wasn’t the one running... It was Airlea. It was herself. She was the Crudelis of the group...

She was the enemy.

Airlea felt her stomach churn, felt it knot up on itself, felt it cramp and twist. She felt sick. The cold rain did nothing to ease the rising temperature or the throbbing ache within her skull. Her hair clung to her forehead, the sides of her face, water dripping off her nose, her face and hands numb from the downpour.

It was a relief. To not feel anything. She wished she was numb to everything sooner. Then she wouldn’t have had to listen to the arguments, not being able to do or say anything to stop them, to make her friends realise that enough was enough, to make her parents realise that she had a voice to, to even make the council realise that she was the very topic of their discussion and that her say was against theirs...

But what use would the do? She was just one voice against the many... No one would listen. Not completely.

She slipped her hands into the pockets of her sodden hoodie and turned towards Caem’s exit. She had to... That was what she wrote on the note that she left on the Regalia’s dash, on the note she left for Noctis. She had to track down Crudelis.

After a few moments of struggling, she pulled her phone from out of her jeans pocket and dialled an important number, putting it up against her ear. One...two...three... “I’m ready.”

“Have you said goodbye to the others?”

“In a note format.”

“You know what happened last time...”

“Gladio shut your trap and tell me where the hell you are.”

Noctis was cold. Alone. Lost. He searched high and low, screaming out her name at the top of his lungs until his throat was dry and voice hoarse, ran until his legs gave way, pushed himself back up until his arms were weak, held back the tears until his eyes were ready to burst from the effort.

He wasn’t ready to give up, but his body wanted him to despite what his heart told him. He was forced to brace himself against a nearby tree, cuts from wild shrubs oozing blood that was washed away by the rain, dirt and mud splattered across his clothes and skin.

He heard the growl of a daemon, hungry to remove the purity from the world, hungry for vengeance against the planet that cursed them. But when he went to run, he only fell, legs burning from the build up of lactic acid, any movement, every breath difficult as his sides ached and raged as his whole body cramped up, throat dryer than Leide’s desert making any noise and breath pained.

The wind was heavy, threatening to pull his body further down the steep bank. But a hand, cold and wet, latched onto his jacket collar, heaving him up with a force he had not experienced by anyone but Gladio. The figure stepped in front of him: a dragoon fully outfitted in her armour, a cloak, tied at the neck, draping down her form before billowing wildly in the breeze, her features disturbingly familiar...

“Audacia?”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” She looked at him from over her shoulder, a smirk plastered upon her face. “Think I’m going to let you waltz around Lucis to find my sister alone, do you?” She laughed dryly. “Not this time, kiddo.”

All he could do was remain silent with slightly narrowed eyes, both annoyed and unsurprised by her eagerness to join him on his quest. It was something he never thought he’s be able to discover, to even pay attention to. Yet, here the older sister was, willing to do everything in her power to save her little sister, to approach the problem and solve it for once in her life. All he could ever remember was her failure to stand up for herself in an argument, just lashing out for no reason and making the hole bigger, the problem far too complicated for the cleverest mathematicians to figure out.

And yet despite the smirk she wore, behind the cockiness of a dragoon on a mission lied a great determination and uncertainty about what was going to happen. It was as if she knew it was bad news and wanted nothing to do with it, what she knew that if she didn’t try, she wouldn’t be worthy of Airlea as a sister. She wouldn’t be seen as trying her damndest to protect her. To see her safe. Noctis could see that Audacia was willing to try and try and try some more to gain Airlea’s trust once more, to see her smile the brightest she had ever been able to. Audacia was willing to learn her lesson.

“Why is she doing this?”

A mere shrug. “It’s not my place and I don’t ask the questions: I kill and get the answers, aking them comes later.” Yet when she turned her head towards her original stature, she looked so sad. As if she blamed herself for this lot. “How don’t care about the whys anymore: not only is Airlea injured, but she’s heading into a trap with Amicitia. And if they both die? That’s not looking good for the future of Lucis since your Royal Sceptre would only ever answer to her, am I right?”

His face raged like an inferno. “What the –“

“Think we don’t know about your little ‘me’ time a few hours ago after you two had a heavy makeout sess?” She laughed further. “I get it: you’re more worried for your future fiancé than the rest of us, but please do try to keep you dangly from standing to attention? That would be grand.”

Hours had gone by since she found him. Audacia had given him food... drink and other necessities needed during their journey. Noctis thanked her greatly for it, his body now appreciating him a lot more than it did when he first legged it out of the Caem house quicker than anyone could say ‘dawn Lucian carp’.

Still, he was exhausted. Waking up to find her missing... to find the bed cold, the sheets empty and to feeling naked despite the layer of pyjamas he had on, was mentally draining. He thought he had done something wrong, that if she would return and he’d ask, her reason was ‘it’s me’... He couldn’t fall back to sleep, his heartbeat echoing in his ears: the song of breaking hearts, of shattering glass and shredding of paper... the sound of his body crying and begging and wondering and never knowing the answer...

“You know, I don’t think she leaves notes with sappy ‘see ya in the morning’s on because she wants to.” Audacia sat down on the bench beside him as he nibbled on his sandwich. “She always did it way back when: if she had to go somewhere and one of us was sick, she’d write a note for us or send us a text message. Always hated disturbing us.”

Noctis couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah. She did that to me once when I was five, said she had to ‘go away’.” He laughed a little. “As a kid, I thought it meant ‘we’re not working out so I’m leaving you and never want to see you again’. I mean, I-I still do... think of it like that.” He took a swig of his soda. “We made a pact ‘saying it face to face means coming back. On a note or via phone? It means never to be seen again.’ Or ‘probably won’t survive.”

“And it terrifies you. Doesn’t it?” Her voice was kind, tone gently, understanding yet curious. “You know she’s struggling: you being betrothed to Luna, the possibility of death captures her heart and makes you just want to kiss her until her knees are weak always: just in case one of these battle is your last. You fear that one day, she’s going to write a note that says ‘farewell, dear Noctis’ and in the space of a few hours... sixteen years of friendship and a month of dating is over...”

Noctis hung his head low. His heart was heavy, eyes pained. That song filled his mind again. The song of the broken. “I guess...”

“You guess correctly.” He hand clasped his shoulder. “They terrified mother so much after father died. I told her constantly that Airlea wouldn’t leave, but she never trusted me, never believed me. After all those years, where I was the most honest one in the house, she still trusted the dead more than the living...” A sigh. Heavy with guilt. “I regret not being there when I should have been, I regret it all. But I couldn’t stand it anymore...”

“So you left because... you felt ignored? You had done so much and yet no one really cared?”

“Airlea cared. Father did but he was always away. Same with the grandparents. But mother? Not a single ‘thank you for cooking tonight’ towards me even though there was towards Airlea... Airlea always did try to assure me that it was because I was the older one so I’d done it way more time that I didn’t need to be asked... But then to be called a liar? To be blamed for moving her savings from one cupboard to the other when it was her? To be called a thief by taking ten gil for food that she said I could use?”

“That was the last straw...” At he nod he asked another. “But... why not let Airlea know?”

“There’s this idea that runs in the Sicarius family that means ‘never tell if it’s going to worry them’. Airlea had enough on her plate to contend with: she didn’t the stresses of a fresh graduate being shoved down her throat every five minutes. Before Crudelis left home, we weren’t distant: we were like an old married couple. But when he left... she started developing trust issues thanks to school taking the piss of her: ‘the girl with the traitor brother’ they called her... It destroyed her.”

“That would explain why she would come out of the toilets looking like crap...”

Audacia leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, forearms draped over and her fingers weaving together. “And then when father died... she became worse. The only person she trusted for a while was you: you didn’t probe or lecture. Just listened. And that was all she ever needed. An ear.” Another sigh. “I... I couldn’t be that ear. But I did try to tell her that I wasn’t going to stay anymore, but she was always busy. But you? You could.”

Noctis gave a small smile. “Her mum wasn’t a bad person.”

“Far from it. She truly did try to stop the favouritism. But the scourge or something must have changed her.” There was a short pause. “Airlea would never leave you, Noctis. She cares too much.”

“... I know.”

“We’ll find the rascal. Just you wait.”

#intra unum diem vitae #iudv #noctlea #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x oc #final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #final fantasy fanfic #final fantasy fanfiction #final fantasy xv fanfiction

6 notes · View notes

airlea-sicarius · 7 years

Text

A Special Day (Noctis x OC/Noctlea)

I AM SO ANNOYED BECAUSE IT IS NO LONGER NOCT’S BITHDAY IN THE UK ONLY BY A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND I ONLY JUST FINISHED THIS DAMN DRABBLE

I am very sorry that I didn’t get a chance to get an x reader out! I did an NSFW one a few months ago back when that post saying it was Not’s birthday in March was going around. It’s not good but if you really want something there’s that option.

Got no idea what happened but here ya go. Enjoy and please please comment - it really helps. Thanks!

Tagging: @jojopitcher @noboomoon @geochic03 @1000wolflover @perimmaster (thank you for mentioning you wanted to be tagged in my OC xmas drabbles - thought I’d start tagging you henever I wrote x OC drabbles just in case and all that stuff) @honeybeelily @neko-otaku13

If you want to learn more of Airlea and Noct, check out my fic Intra Unum Diem Vitae!

Noctis froze in place for a brief moment, not expecting Airlea to kiss him so openly in front of the others.

“Happy birthday, Noct.”

His cheeks flared a bright red. He wouldn’t have cared if it was out of sight but no she just had to do it where the others could easily tease him for simply being embarrassed. Not only that, but her smile made her look so dang cute he couldn’t even... How? How could someone look so cute and still be so kickass even though her brother was so...annoying....?

Honestly, you would have thought he’d die of blushing by how bad his face was, but no. He wished the ground to swallow him up but...it didn’t do that either. It just laughed along with the others over his innocent ad understandable embarrassment and surprise... Just because Gladio wouldn’t mind didn’t me he wouldn’t...

“What do you have planned for today then, Airlea?” Ignis poked his head into the living space of the hotel room. “Anything special?”

“A mish mash of things, really. But first I’m just planning on taking Noct out to Astor to the Nebula wood on a little hunt.”

What now? Who said I – “

“Don’t tell me it’s the behemoth bounty you accepted back at Wiz’s...” Ignis spoke with a sigh.

“Who? Me?” Her smile said differently. “’Course not.”

You did...didn’t you....

“I refuse to let you go out there alone with Noct. We’ll go with you.”

Airlea shook her head, holding her hands out in front of her as Ignis approached, shaking the ladle at her. “No.” She pushed him down onto the chair behind him. “You lot need rest. Especially you. “ She proceeded to take Noct’s hand, walking towards the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him.”

A hunt, she said. She said they were going on a hunt. Not a mission of ‘let’s taunt a behemoth and then run for our lives’.

Well... more like Noctis grabbed her hand and just ran for his life. Honestly? He knew she could get a little... reckless But rudely calling a giant chocobo eating thing ugly and stupid just made her... even worse than reckless. It wasn’t something he really wanted to do on his birthday, especially if it meant getting one heck of a lecture from Ignis.

And even worse? Fleeing whilst it was raining didn’t make the terrain easy to run on, heels digging into the dirt, almost falling every so often whilst the beast found the mud to be more like a shallow puddle.

Noctis thought she was joking, that she actually decided to fight some mandrakes instead and only looked at that behemoth as a way to trick the others... But no. She actually decided that it would be the best idea she ever had: go to a behemoth lair, find a behemoth tyrant inside, and then actually start to charge it without any extra help.

Okay, so maybe they both had magic, but hers wasn’t exactly the best and with no one to tell them it’s weakness? It was almost impossible... Noct loved her for being determined and maybe they could have done it themselves, but knowing the dangers and just how ruthless big, carnivorous beasts could be, led him to believe that fleeing and actually staying safe was, by far, the better option.

What good would his birthday be if his girlfriend, the person he arguably looked up to, got herself killed because of wanting to go and kill something? He knew she enjoyed hunts to get herself warmed up for the day ahead – or so she could sleep well at night – and he did, too, but sometimes she just got a little too overzealous. Not that it was a bad thing but –

When he saw the entrance to the lair, he warped out of it quickly, not stopping the run until they were at the nearby camp. His hands were on his knees now, Airlea on her back on the floor. He noticed the pain on her face, the hand at her side. A pulled muscle perhaps?

“What...were you...thinking?” He wasn’t angry in the slightest, tone light as he sat beside her. He knocked her hand away and lifted her vest top quickly, ignoring the redness on her cheeks.

“Um...” He heard her grimace when he pressed against her ribs – the site of the bullet graze. “Apparently I wasn’t thinking at all.”

Of course he rolled his eyes. Of course she wasn’t thinking – not straight anyway. He couldn’t be mad at her though: her enthusiasm was something he found absolutely adorable and he wouldn’t her to trade it for something else any day. Still, Noct pressed against different areas of her side and anywhere else she may have felt pain. Not a reaction as large the first. “Probably irritated your injury.” He surmised – though he may have been very wrong considering he was no doctor or at knowledgeable on the subject of injuries unless they were blatantly obvious. “Come on...” He stood slowly, knees and ankles clicking to remove the air bubbles formed from how much the had just ran, and offered Airlea his hand. When she took it, he pulled her up. “Let’s get back to the Regalia. Think you can walk?”

She rolled back her shoulder. “Yeah I’m good.”

“Sure you don’t want me to carry you away? Sweep you off your feet?”

“If I wanted you to I’d be – put me down!”

Noctis laughed at her change in pitch and tone as he picked her up. Airlea’s hands clung to his shoulders, fingers digging into his flesh despite the protection of his shirt and jacket. Her knees were pressed against his upper arm, her body leaning sideways and against his torso, He also found this side of her cute – as much as she showed a momentary detest for being picked up, he knew she loved it. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t relax into his hold within seconds.

To be completely truthful, Noctis wasn’t going to carry her originally, simply deciding to keep an eye on her. But the urge to just pick her up was far too great, immune to any resistance his mind may have tried to put up.

“Why would I want to put you down?” He looked down at her face with a sly smile. “This is your punishment for not thinking straight on my birthday.” He warped over the fence before he put her down onto her feet. “Do try not to crash.”

“Tell that to Gladio next time he gets in the driver seat...”

Okay... Maybe trusting Airlea to guide him across a field in Saxham was a bad idea. More than once he had ended up stubbing a toe or catchng his foot in a ditch. And why? Because he had to be blindfolded. ‘It’s a surprise’ she told him. ‘You’re gonna be hooked on it’ she said. And as she did, she was wearing the unfairly cute and sheepish grin, her tone full of zeal. He thought Prompto was enthusiastic, but today? He paled in comparison to how she jumped around and laughed around. Just hearing her made him tired....

And then she just had to sit him down. Gently. And to do so she had to do some... crazy things – half of which he had no idea if she was doing it just because she wanted to or if she actually had to do it. The only thing he was one hundred per cent confident on her totally not needing to was when she give his rump a pat. Maybe it was accidental, but it didn’t seem that way...

If she seriously wanted to...um... get it on with him she could have just dragged him to a camper or brought the tent along with them and just...

“Why you blushing so darkly, hm?”

Noctis’ body jumped, his heart racing fervently at the brief shock. “I’m not blushing.”

“Hm-hm.” He felt her fingers in his hair, untying the black tie around his head. “Not only can I see it, I can feel the warmth radiating from your cheeks.”

“You slapped my butt and you’ve been enjoying breathing on my neck.” He felt his face flush darker. “I-I mean... not that I...er...mind...but...er...if you wanted to...you didn’t have to...” He furrowed is brows and folded his arms in annoyance at her laughter. “Oh c’mon, Airlea. Stop being Gladio and be the sweet Airlea who would only even think about causing these things in a sheltered space away from prying eyes.”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re hooked on a feeling.” He felt the sun on his eyelids. “Open your eyes slowly. It’s a little bright out here.”

Noctis did as he was told, only for his breath to be taken away from his lungs. There was clear water, ten different species of carp in one place. On the pier in front of him was a small basket; he could smell the freshly baked goods... Beside them was his lure box – he half wondered where Gladio had put it, and beside that was a few wrapped up gifts, each one neat and precise, the triangles equal, and the clear Lucian patriotism on the wrapping paper made it obvious who it was all from. Within the pile was an envelope – he picked it up and opened it, taking out the folded piece of paper and he caught the five photos that fell as he unfolded the paper.

Okay okay. This might be a little too much from me, but one of them is actually from your dad and he wanted me to give it to you if I ever got the chance. I definitely didn’t cook everything either – only the birthday cake. Rest assured that it’s just a sponge but with buttercream icing! Ignis did the rest, including putting it out here. And Gladio helped me find the good shops and Prompto helped me find the spot – basically we all worked together to create this little surprise. The boys have something else up their sleeve but they’ll just have to wait.

- Airlea. P.S You’re so cute and I love you very much. Enjoy.

He felt a smile creep up onto his lips. Noctis knew her to find ways to celebrate, but this? This was what he never expected. He picked up the smallest parcel, shaking it to see if he could figure out what it was. Nothing... It was heavy, smooth. Not a piece of clothing. He slowly ripped into the present enough to pull the gift out. At first he was honestly confused as to why he had an embellished book his hand, the cover a sepia brown leather with gold embellishment saying ‘to a birthday prince, the memoirs of an old King’. His curiosity was piqued, however, and he just had to open it up...

He had no idea how to feel... Every page had one to three photos of himself and his father, sometimes with his mother, Airlea and so on. Each had captions, dates, years, how old he was... It was split into chapters, and at the end of each one there was a summary, a favourite memory, a story...

He honestly wished he opened that one last...

Still, he closed it carefully, slipping the photos of the gang being dorks into the book, forged from years of care and love, and went to the next largest. He opened it quietly, expecting it to be something sentimental. It was a blanket, a black throw to be precise, and it was soft to the touch. He took a sniff: freshly washed and dried, a cherry blossom fragrance told him of the softner she used, and the light hint of melon and jasmine let him know that it had been close to the reed diffuser she took along with her to use in the campers.

He smiled and he took the final gift. It was oddly shaped, long, thin and a little bulky on one side. He ripped open the packaging and he smiled widely. A new fishing rod, the best one on the market, and three typhon lures which you could only get at the Altissian arena. “How did you – “

“My dad used to go to that Arena. When I was searching in his draws for things to use, I found a box of lures which were addressed to me... inside was a little note of apology for something or other...most of them had gotten rusty and unrestorable. But these ones? Got them restored for you. There should be three more coming your way when we get to Altissia though, all paid by me.”

Noctis looked at her. “Airlea... you didn’t have to... You didn’t have to do any of this.” He looked at the gifts, overwhelmed and speechless... “I...thank you. For not only getting these lures to me, but for managing to give me the photo album and the blanket...”

“I do have another present for you tonight... that’s if you’re er...still wanting to get, um, hooked on a feeling.”

“I’m always hooked on you if that’s what you’re implying.”

He grinned at her bright blush. “Or would you like to get it on now?”

Noctis couldn’t retain his chuckle. “Easy there tiger. Let’s eat first.”

#noctis lucis caelum #noctis x oc #noctlea #noctis x airlea #airlea sicarius #final fantasy xv fanfiction

12 notes · View notes