Kingdom For A Heart [Noctis x Reader]

/What the hell are you standing there for, expecting/
/me to help you, when I'm down myself/
/Waiting my savior, my world is flooding over, there's/
/no room for air, I can't breathe, I would give a kingdom/
/for one more day/

Being a girl that demanded detail upon detail of anything, names, faces, and everything, you've always been busy with either a notebook or a computer. As confirmed by your father, you rarely leave home without one or the other, regardless of wherever you went. Juicy gossip, investigations, even something as simple as gangs in your town, you dug into it all, going as far as to try to break into private servers so as to get insight as to whatever you might be looking into. Needless to say, that particular scenario didn't always end well, but it was worth it in the end. Revealing the truth is your specialty.

Then they came.

Apparently, some guys had heard of you from quite a ways away, coming to meet you themselves to see if you were the real deal. After a decent chat with your parents, as well as a look into your work, they'd asked you to tag along in their adventure, seeing as you'd be the only girl in their group and your skills in citizen journalism are beyond impeccable. Though you'd been reluctant in leaving your family behind, your mother told you that this would be a once in a lifetime chance, and that she wanted you to take it, even if you'd never see her again - much to the initial hurt you both felt.

Wanting her and your father to be proud, you agreed, packing some clothes, your laptop, your notebook, some pens and pencils, and a hunting knife in order to prepare for the journey that awaited you wherever the boys would be going. At the last minute, you'd packed some pads and tampons - adventures don't break a woman's menstrual cycle -, and came back out to join the boys. With big smiles and pats on your back and shoulders, they welcomed you as if you were a friend they'd been waiting for years to see.

As you loaded your things up - not much, but enough to last for as long as needed -, you'd listened to your mother telling one of the boys, a black haired lazybones named Noctis, from what you'd heard from his friends, everything that any mother would tell new people when they'd be bringing you along for something, from food allergies to any personal needs you may have. You're beyond thankful that you don't have anything aside from a sweet tooth and period cramps, even if the boys seemed beyond patient and amiable. Although you can't help having issues, having the slightest of 'accidents' would send you into such distress that it'd be impossible to calm you down without help. You're not overly emotional by any means - far from it, actually; but you'd be surrounded by boys that would never understand what you go through.

Finally, the great moment had come. The five of you were in the car - the "Regalia", as the man in glasses, Ignis, said it was -, ready to go. As you sat in between Prompto - the "Idiot Gunslinger", his unofficial title - and Noctis, you noticed your parents going to the latter's side to talk to you one final time, turning slightly to look at them properly. As most parents would, they wished you well, made you promise - repeatedly, in fact - to take proper care of yourself while on the trip, and most of all, "do your part".

You'll never forget the tears in your father's eyes when he addressed the boys.

"Gladiolus, Ignis, Prompto, Noctis..." He had said, "...Take care of her."

/I'd give - a kingdom/
/For one more day as a king of your world/
/I'd give a kingdom, for (just) one more day/

Not surprisingly, the road had went from one of new beginnings and excitement to one of hardships and emotional baggage. As soon as it sunk in that there was a possibility that you'd never see your family ever again, you'd cried for days on end, turning away any offers to help. Ignis, being the gentleman he was, had told the boys to just let you cry as much as you needed to, even if it put you to sleep once camp was set up. Tears fell into your food in every meal, and yet you didn't care; you were sad, and you weren't afraid to let it be known.

Eventually, you'd asked politely for some distractions from the pain, and got exactly what you needed. From Gladiolus, some training in running, fighting, and just general fitness. From Prompto, you learned how to shoot a gun and have a good time while doing so. From Ignis, some cooking lessons, as well as etiquette when talking to those of a higher status. Finally, from Noctis, you'd learned how to use a sword, and how to smile through your pain. In his eyes, you suspected that he'd been through a lot, but then again, you could have been wrong, and he could've just been a normal prince.

That's right, prince. From Prompto, you'd learned that Noctis was, as of right now, the final heir to his kingdom, and he needed to reclaim his throne. Though you'd dared to ask how, the simple answer was that Noctis would want to tell you himself if he wanted you let in on anything. Figuring that was enough pressing, you'd kept silent about the subject altogether at that moment, just getting back to your activities. After all the weeks you'd spent with them, you learned how they spoke and how they handled problems. Ignis had said himself that they'd need you to gather all the information you could whenever you were needed, and you supposed that it'd help Noctis get his throne back.

Eventually, you'd gotten over your separation from your family, seeing as the guys agreed that whenever the five of you were even marginally close, you'd stop to say hello and get in some hugs - and spend a few nights, on the occasion that the Regalia broke down. Fortunately, courtesy of Prompto, that happened fairly often, so seeing your family has been a once every two weeks thing. This would have to end very soon, you know, but you'll treasure every moment you'll spend with your family, especially when you might die out on the road - a possibility confirmed by the monsters that you encountered almost frequently. Though it's much less scary now, given you know how to fight and use magic - something you're as good as Prompto with -, you're still at risk.

You've stopped counting the times you've made poor Gladiolus keel over whenever you'd been unlucky enough to give him a good blast of lightning magic.

Because your new friends - affectionately dubbed your Chocobros - are beyond forgiving as you came to figure out through the time you knew them, you were able to convince Ignis to help you properly conjure and conduct magic. It took some time - you're very new to combat, both magical and not -, but you eventually got the hang of it. You went from Prompto level idiotic, in that aspect, to semi-competent in the spans of precisely dawn until dusk. You don't think you'll ever forget the pride that was in Gladio's smile when he saw you use your materia correctly in a fight, nor will you forget the excited fistbumping courtesy of Prompto.

Noctis... Well, let's just say he was pretty impressed, as made apparent by the sleeping when he should be frigging helping with dinner goddammit!

Interestingly enough, you'd learned, thanks to some digging into the newspapers, radio, and media, that the Oracle, or Lady Lunafreya, as she's known, is betrothed, and not just to anyone - but to Noctis. You've spent almost months with Noctis, and you've only found this out just after the five of you saw her wedding gown, when you began researching while the boys were asleep. Though it disheartens you slightly to know he's engaged, you're more angry at the fact that Noctis seemingly willingly kept this from you. Aren't the two of you friends?

It's immature to be sad about someone else's relationship, you realize, but you just wish Noctis had told you. Did he not value you as much as he did the other three? Were you not good enough in his eyes to be trusted with such information? What was it that they had that you didn't; that allowed him to chat about anything and everything? What about this endeavor all in itself had you so upset?

And then it dawned on you: You loved him.

You were in love with Noctis Lucis Caelum, the heir and sire of the kingdom of Lucis.

When it registered, you felt like screaming and crying, like losing your mind and showing just how affected you were. You were infuriated that you were so foolish as to fall for him, but at the same time, a strange relief came with coming to terms with it.

How... how presumptuous.

/What the hell am I waiting here for, expecting you to/
/come and give away your life/
/Just for a moment of my time, have a hole where I/
/should have a heart, I'm made of wood, I'm falling/
/apart, I would give a kingdom for one more day./

Currently, the lot of you are staying at Galdin Quay, and you're beyond sure that you've died and gone to heaven, at this point. Massages available at any time of the day, fishing... you would add swimming, but you're not entirely sure if it'd be safe to be going swimming without knowing what's in the water. So, you've been sticking with the land activities, including the lessons and training that come with mornings. Not that you mind, though; in fact, now that you've adjusted to being on the road all the time, it really feels like the perfect life.

Sitting cross-legged on your bed in your room - Ignis thought it appropriate to separate you from the others, given you're a woman and privacy is a must -, you finish up some work that you've been doing on your laptop, saving it and closing the document before setting it aside so it can charge. Although you've been told many times that you shouldn't be spending such a long time on a computer, you need to have something to work on, or you'll go nuts. All four of your buddies found that one out the hard way, and it didn't even click at the time that you'd even react like you did.

Needless to say, it ended as well as Noctis getting a back massage.

"[y/n]?" You perk up a bit at Noctis entering your room, one hand carrying a plate of cooked rice with fish and vegetables - your favorite. "Hey. I brought you some food, in case you were hungry. Ignis and Gladio wanted to let you know that it was time to eat, but we all figured you were working on something important."

"I was," You nod. "But now, I'm done. Thanks, Noct." You give him an appreciative smile, setting the rice plate just in front of you, beginning to eat.

Noctis nods, smiling back at you, before sitting at the foot of the bed. Usually, he leaves when he's done doing something, but this time, he's not; it's almost strange. Despite his nonchalance about joining you uninvited, it's beyond clear in his eyes that he has something to say to you - something important.

"Hey, [y/n]," He starts, "I know, you're probably still sour about my engagement, but..." Well, here we go again. "I have to get married, so that I can have children, and the line will keep strong. I'm sorry, I really am, but there's no other way."

"...I know," You say, your voice soft despite the collapsing of your previously good mood. "Noct, I'm not naive; I'm aware of the one-way track that this kind of thing is."

"Are you angry about it, though?" Noctis asks.

"Maybe," You hum. "To be honest, when does the opinion of a commoner ever matter in the affairs of royalty?" You lean back a bit. "So, what did you come in here for, anyway, aside from the food and this topic?"

"I just thought that maybe you'd have something to tell me," Noctis tells you. "If you have something that needs to be said, then say it now."

You bite your lip at the proposal, placing down the now empty plate, your previous passive aggressive demeanor vaulting to a blankness that could not match any blank slate of concrete even if anyone tried. It's lovely to know that Noctis is open to hearing whatever you might be feeling at the moment, but he'll most likely go through this routine of "why you shouldn't be attracted to me" once you even start opening up. Though his overall demeanor annoys you at times, his honesty, his good heart, and his enduring faithfulness are the only three things keeping him from being labelled as a complete jerkwad.

"...First, let me say this," You cross your arms, hoping that this will be like one of those cliche movies, where the love confession begins and then a friend rudely interrupts, "If you have something that needs to be said, then say it now. Otherwise, this exchange would've been nothing but us spewing at each other like toddlers." It'd also be beyond awful, because I've just begun burying my feelings for you.

Noctis blinks, leaning back a bit at your firing his statement back at him. Though it's clear he didn't expect this from you, given you've never once snapped at the boys in the slightest, and that's saying something, given Prompto is an idiot.

"Alright," He soon says, taking your challenge. "[y/n], you've been really good to us, even if you're working like crazy and have almost no time to let us actually get to know you. But, I've been having... erm... Urgh, how do I say this?" He accompanies the question - directed at himself - with an awkward scratch to the back of his head. "I... don't really know if it's Luna I want to marry anymore."

"What a pity." It's even lost on you if your comment is meant to be a jest or something serious. "Might as well ditch the peace treaty, if you feel like that. Pour the champagne, my prince; you're an accident waiting to happen with this attitude."

"Your prince." His head's bowed now, so you can't see his eyes. But, the drop in his tone has you on guard; there's something he's trying to say with just that echo. "Would you laugh if I told you I liked that?"

"What." You mean for it to be a question, but your voice betrays you.

This time, Noctis lifts his head. "I'm not too sure you're aware of this, but you have this habit of calling me that, especially when you're being sarcastic," He elaborates, eyebrows raised. "I liked it, especially the 'my' part - still do, actually."

"Uh huh..." You're even more confused. But then, you jolt. "Hey, where are you going with this?"

Noctis lets out a sound - not so much like his standard groan when he's irritated, but extremely distinct. You can't place why, but it feels like he's trying to tell you something. Though, he's a teenage boy, regardless of if he has royal blood or not; lethargy is what holds him back from an alarming amount of activities. Common, but irritating. It's so evident that even Gladio has noticed - which is the precise reason why he's chatted with you once or twice about establishing a training regiment to keep him active. When the body keeps moving, the brain is happier.

"Ugh, why's it suddenly so hard to talk to you?" Noctis grunts. "God..."

You tilt your head, soon reaching out to press the back of your hand to his cheek. It's as warm as usual, no sign of inflammation or anything like that. Pressing your palm to his forehead, you find yourself locking eyes with him as you find he's perfectly well. He's not dizzy, poisoned, anything that would subdue his senses and leave him unclear and incoherent. Eventually, he reaches up, grabbing your wrist gently and holding your fingers to his lips. His soft flesh brushes your ring finger, and you can feel him gently hold it in between. The two of you remain like this for an amount of time, eventually lowering your arms and simply staring at each other.

"Would you mind calling me that more often?" He asks, breaking the heavy silence. "Call me... your prince."

It then dawns on you - he's resonating with your feelings. Or at least, that's how it seems. You can never tell.

"A prince is what you are, idiot," You mention, a brow quirked. "I mean, unless..."

"I want to love you."

Time stills.

Your stomach twists, your skin flushes, and you find yourself swaying a little, only stopped by Noctis propping you up against the bed's headboard. Even then, he doesn't allow distance. His hands are on the bed on either side of your hips, one knee between your calves, eyes level with your eyebrows. It's not an uncomfortable closeness, but it's definitely not comfortable, either.

I... what the heck...?

"Noct?" You gather the energy to ask, and by this point, you feel like you're under a spell, like every bit of your existence - your soul, your heart, your life - is at the mercy of the prince. Not something to depend on him, but something to be easily destroyed by him with the snap of his fingers.

His hand, lacking a glove unlike the other, reaches up, tangling in your hair as the distance between you two grows smaller - and smaller, and smaller, until-

knock, knock

Noctis is no stranger to anger, and not just because of his driving habits. This, however, doesn't stop you jolting when his fist comes down on the mattress beside you. With a huff, he backs away from you just enough to be perfectly unsuspected once the door opens, revealing Gladio. He looks pretty tired, but a little fatigue never got the brute knocked down before. At least, not since you got to know him.

"Hey, you two," He greets. "Better get your stuff loaded up. We leave first thing in the morning."

"Got it," Noctis nods as he gets up, his tone heavy with something you can't discern.

"C'mon, Noct, no bumpin' of hips today," Gladio chuckles, gently smacking his back as he passes before looking back at you. "[y/n], you good?"

You nod. "Yeah. We were just... uh... conversing."

"Really?" He asks, though more in a matter of "there's something going on here and I'm not in on it like I should be".

"Mhm," You nod again.

He just snorts. "If you say so."

/I'd give - a kingdom/
/For one more day as a king of your world/
/I'd give a kingdom, for one more day./

Although it's extremely far-fetched sounding to be on the road again, especially at fifteen minutes until dawn, Noctis's duties with gaining his powers and reclaiming his throne have to be taken care of as soon as possible. But, as a minor obstacle, it's not safe at all to be driving at nighttime, so it's a better idea to get going as soon as the sun rises. Though, there's one thing that you, Noctis, and Prompto could do about it: Loudly complain about it until Gladiolus shuts you up.

From his spot to your right, Noctis looks down at you, not being able to help the soft smile gracing his lips at the sight of you leaning against him, having fallen right back asleep when the drive started. Contrary to what the group previously thought, your line of work as the group's informant not only calls for a lot of your attention and effort, but also your energy. So, it's only natural that you fall asleep sooner than the others do. Although it'd be lovely to never run out of energy, you can't control how your body works.

"Now if you'd just put an arm around her, that'd make an excellent photo," Prompto brings up, grinning at the sight - and Noctis jolting slightly at the notion.

"Prompto, what the-!" Noctis silences himself just when you stir just a little, letting out an exhale of relief when you snuggle into him a bit more.

"Noct, I must admit, you and [y/n] have grown considerably close," Ignis brings up. "Truly, I had all but forgotten about your engagement each time I saw you together, even if just side-by-side, not making eye contact.'

Noctis lets out a sigh, leaning back into the seat a bit, but making sure you're in a good position in the process. Over the time that he'd spent with you, he had begun to feel some sort of connection with you, as if the two of you were friends in childhood that were ripped away from each other. But, that was him and Lady Lunafreya, not him and you, although it would be rather cute. Though, as a prince, he has to marry her and continue his line, or his kingdom is doomed - kinda.

Royalty life isn't fair in the slightest, but he has to suck it up and keep moving forward, even if what awaits him is a bittersweet morrow.

"I admit, we're close," Noctis tells the other guys, prompting a smirk from Ignis and Gladiolus as well as a grin and a soft "ooooh" from Prompto, "But that's just it, guys. Like you said, Iggy, I'm engaged. Even if there was love there for us, I can never truly love [y/n], even if it hurts that I can't. Even if I try to make it work, I... I just can't do that to her." At this point, he's lucky that you're a heavy sleeper. "Just... don't bring it up again, okay? She'll find someone that'll treat her better than I could ever hope to."

Prompto opens his mouth to argue, but Ignis is the one to talk this time.

"You're making a very wise decision, Noct," He tells the prince. "I'm sure that if she were awake, she would understand and agree."

Although Noctis is comforted slightly by his words, his heart sinks a little lower, the knowledge that he'll never be able to hold you and kiss you like he's wished to once he realized his feelings dragging it lower with each inhale he took. It's the best thing that he can ever do for you, so why does it hurt so much? He's not worthy of your golden heart, or even as much as the mere sight of you. He has magical powers, a royal status, and a reputation, but what good are those, when something greater is right here, cuddling into him as if he is a living, breathing teddy bear?

Eventually, after a few bumps in the road, you stir, yawning softly and opening your eyes, taking your time to wake up. Seeing as you've been travelling with the guys for weeks that slowly turned to months, waking up in the car in the middle of a drive is the equivalent of waking up in your bed in an apartment full of screaming people. It's annoying at first, but you gradually get used to it, letting it become an everyday morning. Surely, your parents would have been begging to have the lot of you get proper sleep in proper beds if they were here, but they're not, so tough luck.

"Morning, guys," You drawl, lifting the back of your hand to wipe at your mouth.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Prompto greets, grinning at you.

"Did you sleep well, [y/n]?" Ignis asks. "You were sleeping considerably hard, so we thought it best not to wake you."

"Yea, I did, thanks," You nod. "Work takes a lot out of me, I guess."

"Why not just take the day off from your stuff, [y/n]?" Prompto asks. "You'll not only get to spend more time with us, but you'll also have much more energy."

You mull over the proposition, but why that mulling includes you sitting up and brushing off Noctis's shirt, you can't even begin to fathom. Computers are seriously bad for the eyes, and so, spending the day off of yours would do you a world of good in the near future. It'd also give you more time to spend with the guys; to properly bond and really feel like a close knit group. Another thing, it'd give Ignis one less thing to pester you about, given he feels the need to point out things that otherwise would not bother you.

"Not to mention looking at a screen makes you stay up longer," Gladio adds.

"For the sake of your sleeping hours, I wholeheartedly suggest that you take up Prompto's offer," Ignis brings up. "It'd also let you more bonding time, as well as some periods of relaxation."

You smile. He's so much like a dad...

"Alright."

/I'd give it all for her heart/
/if I was a King I would give away my kingdom/
/Treasures and crowns wouldn't mean a thing/
/If I only had her heart, if I only had her heart.../

By sheer bad luck - and Prompto's silent prayers, surely -, the Regalia managed to break down again, leaving you and the boys to dash off to fight some monsters and do some exploring while Cindy works her magic. Since you've been training with Gladio for (surely) longer than you've used your notebook, running has become as easy and somewhat relaxing as swinging. You'd do it all the time, but you remember Noctis's duties and remember that that isn't an option.

"[y/n], you're unusually quiet today," Ignis speaks up.

"What's there to talk about?" You shoot back. "There's sand all over the place and Prompto's hair is most likely going to suffer in the next twenty minutes. So, I think it's safe to say that this isn't too unusual."

"'Scuse me," Ignis hums, saying nothing more.

"Isn't this 'sandtastic'?" Prompto grins.

"...That was bad and you should feel bad," Gladiolus speaks up before you can even threaten to punch the Chocobo butt head. "[y/n]'s puns are better, and that's saying a lot."

"HEY!" You bark. "That's enough from the peanut gallery!"

Oddly enough, this is far from the first time that banter such as this was shared. Each time, however, is a fun one, full of strategic talk, Ignis fussing over you and Noctis, and bad puns - courtesy of Prompto. Not once have the lot of you been intentionally mean to each other; such a thing would be absolutely horrid. Even if Gladiolus did sometimes have a bone to pick with one of you - Noctis, mainly, for whatever reason -, he would never truly lay a finger on any of you. Not only would it put practically the world in danger, but it''d upset his sister. Bless that sweet Iris's heart.

It's taken quite a bit of time out of the day, but then again, fighting monsters is never that easy. Behemoths are your favorite to fight, given they're really good for raising your strength, but then, there's one thing that always makes you regret bashing it's head in. Especially when that thing is always screwing up everything.

"Prompto, for the love of Minerva, will you ever learn to use magic properly?" You ask, standing up despite your state, brushing off the black ash from your face and clothes. "I swear, giving you materia is like giving a toddler a gun - not that you're any different from one, really."

"Hey!" Prompto cries, and Noctis just chuckles, shaking his head at the scene.

"He'll learn in due time, [y/n]. He's slow, but he's progressing finely," Ignis justifies. "The same could be said about a lady with a gun, but I do not wish to invoke your wrath."

"Nothing's scarier than an angry woman with a sword, a gun, and all the resources in the world to make us regret making her angry," Gladiolus nods. "But she's learning, too."

"Indeed," Ignis agrees.

"We should go find camp somewhere," Noctis brings up. "Chances are, we're gonna crash in the next five minutes, so it'd be a good idea, right?"

"All in favor of finding camp, raise your right arm," You say, raising said arm, and grinning at seeing the guys do the same. "Sweet. Let's go find someplace!" Like that, you're off, thankful that they're able to keep up with you; Gladiolus especially.

"She never winds down, does she?"

/Now I know I will never love you, I'm (a) man without/
/a heart, I'm not allowed to feel human feelings/
/I'm king of the land, I'm a ruler of seas, I'd give it/
/away in a moment. If I only had one moment/

It's truly amazing how fast the moon rises as the tents do, but you're beyond thankful that it invokes the nighttime breeze, allowing it to brush past you and cool down your senses as you manage to get all cleaned up from Prompto's little mess up. Though you really want to shower, you can't really do anything until the car's fixed. It sucks, to be sure, but unless you want to walk more, you'll just have to wait.

"[y/n], food's ready," Ignis calls.

"Coming!" You call back, standing up and getting out of your shared tent with Noctis - you're not entirely sure that sharing a tent with him was a good idea; it seemed like one, at the time - to join the boys for dinnertime. No matter what lack of energy or strength you have, everything is worth Ignis's cooking.

Grabbing your plate, you give Ignis a big smile and a thanks before sitting down, relishing in the taste of the food upon your tongue - you're beyond thankful that Ignis has taught you to eat slowly, so you feel fuller faster and don't eat so much - as you listen to the occasional banter between the boys. They're all smiling and laughing with each other, and though you know nothing about whatever the subject may be, you're happy that they're enjoying themselves.

It's taken weeks - scratch that, months - to get used to travelling with such an energetic band of boys, but once you had, you'd begun to learn their ways. Needless to say, no people could make you smile as brightly as they could. It's almost like you've found four brothers that you never knew that you had, and you could never love anyone else more than you love these dorks. Truth be told, you'd run away from the alter if you heard they still need you on their little adventure; abandon the chance of settling down and starting a family for the sake of your best friends.

Yawning, you stand, placing your plate on a nearby stump. "Guys, I'm getting kind of tired. Is it okay if I turn in for the night?" You ask.

Ignis nods. "We've all had a long day," He tells you. "Go right ahead."

"Thanks, Iggy," You nod, smiling. "Night, dudes." With that, you head into your tent, quickly changing into just a baggy shirt and a pair of shorts; you think nightdresses are pointless. Can't sit with your legs open with those things - not that you should be, if you want Ignis to stay off of your back.

Crawling into your sleeping bag, you turn away from the tent's opening, figuring you'd sleep better with the fire's light not directly visible. Turns out, you're right, but now you have a new problem: your backpack. Your laptop's corner is sticking out, and the overwhelming temptation to open it up to do some more informative work at first moves your body to grab it. But, you remember what Prompto said about your time on the computer and realize that that isn't an option.

sizzle

Quickly retracting your arm, you tug your blanket - it gets seriously chilly on nights like these, so you keep one underneath the bag's zipper - over your shoulders, closing both eyes in a successful attempt to look like you're sound asleep. As you hear Noctis entering the tent, you're beyond thankful that you've learned how to look asleep while not being asleep. It's not that you don't like the prince anymore; you just want to avoid having a similar situation to last night, were you'd be coming close to revealing your buried feelings for him.

"...[y/n]?" Noctis asks. "You still awake?"

You don't reply.

"...Hm," You hear a grating sigh escape his slightly chapped lips. "I really wish you'd just talk to me, especially about whatever bothers you. It's nice to know you can take care of yourself, but... can you at least give me a chance?"

He shifts closer to you, the rustling tensing the muscles in your shoulders a little bit at a time.

"I especially wish you'd tell me your answer to last night. When I said I wanted to love you, when I almost kissed you..." He tells you softly so as to not bother the others. "But I wish that I didn't have to. I've known Lunafreya since we were young, but that doesn't make this easy on me."

Your sleeping bag shifts a little as he sits behind your back, placing his hand on your shoulder. Eventually, however, he starts shaking you - gently, so as to not immediately thrust you into fatigued aggression. Deciding that ignoring him from this point forward isn't a good course of action, you open your eyes, sitting up. Though you do feel like smacking him for not letting you sleep, from what he's saying, you're inclined to actually discuss this.

"Sorry," He simpers.

"Nah. I was just dozing off, but it's nothing that hunting monsters hasn't taught me to bounce back from," You dismiss. "Besides, now's as good a time as any to let this to rest."

"Touche," Noctis hums in agreement. Then he seems to mentally cower, casting his eyes down to your laps and clenching his fists.

At this point, you recognize: the Noctis of yesterday and the Noctis of tonight are two different people. One is the lethargic prince that would sleep through an apocalypse if given the choice and the other is the young man that is on the verge of actually owning up to not being able to express jack frigging squat properly. Those baby blues, though veiled by almost constant uncertainty, are clearer than crystal itself; he's baring literally all of himself to you even with the possibility of this being forgotten.

"Alright," He sighs. "On to what I'm trying to tell you-"

"You developed feelings for me," You bring up, emphasizing what he said previously. For a moment, he freezes, and it takes another for him to recollect himself.

"The only thing getting in the way of even the idea of us, though, is my engagement to Luna," Noctis says. "What I also don't want to do is straight up tell you I love you, only to wind up lying to your face without realizing it until it's too late."

You never thought about it like that. Then again, you don't remember being an expert with this.

Reaching, he gently takes your hand, splaying it across his chest. Against your palm, you can feel his heartbeat, slow and steady, pulsating and spreading the resulting warmth through your arm.

"Feel this?" He asks. "My heart was sent off, but more than anything, what I want is to offer it to you - sincerely, for the rest of our lives." He then sighs, dropping your arms. "[y/n], all I can hope for is that things are different one day, that we won't have to feel like this for long; to be restrained because of something like this."

"That we could either be joined or find other people, is that what you're trying to say?" Your tone isn't aggressive, nor is it sorrowful, but rather just your basic instinct to try and understand what's running around in his hand. A simple nod from him is your answer, and you give off a slight sigh, reaching and stroking his arm. "A prince that can't use the correct words to express himself is unseemly, you know." Not only is that a joke, bit it's the exact same thing Ignis would say if he happened to be sitting right beside you two. The guy has a tendency to pop up without warning, after all.

He scratches the back of his head, looking away from you. "Go figure..." For goodness sake, Noct.

"You'll get better at it. Just read more books," You tell him.

He blinks. "... Uh."

You chortle.

Eventually, Noctis laughs. Not unhinged, leaning on his hands laughter, but rather filtered, quieter laughter mindful of your faithful compadres sleeping in the other tents. It doesn't last long, being cut off by a yawn, but it does feel kinda nice to see him smiling after a conversation like that.

"We should sleep. Iggy will be all over us if we don't," You tell him.

"Right," Noctis nods. Though, before lying down, he reaches out to you, one hand gently cupping your face and the other tangling in your hair just as it had last night - but this time, it ends differently. Long story short, he makes a point to close the distance a bit quicker, and when he does, you can't say it's an unpleasant surprise.

Everything that hits you right now, from his newly cleaned scent and the taste of his lips, it calms you of any apprehension during the time he spent so close to you. With this kiss, he allows a silent proclamation of love to ooze through you, heat whirring in your ears and your stomach twisting along with it. Mind you, this means only that you two have made peace in that these conditions won't allow you to be together; you've accepted that you and Noctis might never be together.

You'll live, even with this. It'll all be okay... Right?

/I'd give - a kingdom/
/I'd give a kingdom/
/I'd give - a kingdom to just one more day/

/I'd give it all for her heart/
/if I was a King I would give away my kingdom/
/Treasures and crowns wouldn't mean a thing/
/If I only had her heart/

/I'd give it all for her heart/
/if I was a King I would give away my kingdom/
/Treasures and crowns wouldn't mean a thing/
/If I only had her heart, if I only had her heart [repeat]/