Tumgik
#yes i fully acknowledge that my body hates tomatoes now. but i have to have SOMETHING in this life that i enjoy
sanjisock · 3 years
Text
more than words
50 words; 50 sentences
ao3
#01 - Motion
A spinning kick, a swing of blade — the two meet and hit but don’t hurt, and Nami sighs exasperatedly at such a pathetic display of a mating dance.
#02 - Cool
Zoro stands his ground as his enemy — finally, finally — falls unceremoniously on his back, unconscious, and Sanji thinks for a moment that the sight of Zoro — wild and victorious and ready to take on the world — looks kind of, maybe, slightly cool.
  #03 - Young
Brook sees the two — dying to die for each other, the weight of their friends’ lives pulling down their shoulders — and he thinks too many people forget how young they still are.
  #04 - Last
The Cook is the last person Zoro would consider lending a hand in a fight — “who would want to work together with that dumbass anyway,” he lies whenever anyone asks, and doesn’t admit that it’s because he trusts Sanji’s ability to stand his ground, wholly and fully.
  #05 - Wrong
Sanji knows Zoro, like him, understands better than most — that this nakama thing isn’t just something you’d die for, but something you’d kill for, too.
  #06 - Gentle
Sanji manages to catch Kitetsu before it rolls off from the deck during a storm, and in that moment, Zoro knows, from the reverent way he regards the swords in his hands, that this isn’t the first time the Cook has wielded one.
  #07 - One
“Calm down, Marimo,” Sanji says with a dismissive wave of his hand when Zoro asks about the sword a few days later, “I’m not about to take your place as the ship’s swordsman; a cook doesn’t use his hands to fight, and I had a terrible teacher anyways.”
  #08 - Thousand
“I’m worth two thousand men,” Zoro grumpily says, almost sulking, and Nami can’t resist patting his head like she would to a little boy pulling the pigtail of a girl he has a crush on.
  #09 - King
You’re like the prince of Dumbass Kingdom, Zoro says, and it takes Sanji everything in him not to blurt out, Dumbass Kingdom sounds about right; wait ‘till you see the fucking king.
  #10 - Learn
Watching Sanji converse fluently with a couple of tourists in a Northern language, Zoro wonders when he will ever stop learning something new about Sanji — or if he ever will, at all.
  #11 - Blur
When Zoro finally comes to, the wounds from Bartholomeow Kuma is muted by Chopper’s medicine, a dull throb at the back of his consciousness; but the sharp pain against his heart feels raw still, visceral and razor-sharp, tucked alongside the ache of Sanji’s sacrifice.
#12 - Wait
“Wait,” he manages to croak out before Sanji flees the room, the word spilling out unbidden; he isn’t quite sure why, but he knows that he wants the Cook to stay.
  #13 - Change
“Have some fucking decency ,” Sanji yells, throwing a shirt at Zoro’s direction; the brute has been walking around the ship bare-chested like an eyesore ever since they entered the summer island, and Sanji is just trying to do everyone a favor — and definitely not because there’s a different kind of heat pooling at the pit of his stomach.
#14 - Command
Robin watches the two in amusement — Zoro could have easily refused to be Sanji’s pack mule, and she can hear him grumbling about it still; and yet, here they are, once again, together at the island’s marketplace.
#15 - Hold
Sanji is rough around the edges, bristling at the slightest touch; Zoro knows he needs to be gentle, but he doesn’t quite remember the last time he held something that isn’t a hilt of a sword, without meaning to hurt . It’s a learning curve. 
  #16 - Need
Sanji knows Zoro is a dumbass, but it takes a special kind of stupid to think he would never be good enough for Sanji, when he’s all that Sanji has ever needed.
#17 - Vision
Zoro never regrets losing his eye, but he wishes, sometimes, he could still take in the sight of Sanji with an unimpaired vision, just to see more of him.
  #18 - Attention
“You’re starting a fight, Marimo?” Sanji growls, voice low and dangerous, and Zoro thinks, yes, yes, anything to get you to look at me.
  #19 - Soul
He loves the kid like a brother, but sometimes Zoro hates how Luffy can easily see past his gruff words and feigned ignorance; the way Luffy only needs to take one look at him to guess, “you’re worried about Sanji, aren’t you?”
  #20 - Picture
He carries around everyone’s bounty posters, Sanji tells himself, and tries not to think too hard about how the only one he kept in his breast pocket is Zoro’s, folded neatly against his heart.
  #21 - Fool
“This is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done so far,” Sanji says when they part, lips still tingling from their earlier kiss, because Zoro’s love is fierce and consuming and Sanji knows, ever since he was just a kid with the iron mask, that he doesn’t deserve any of this.
  #22 - Mad
“Don’t you ever say that kind of shit again,” Zoro snarls, slamming the wall beside Sanji’s head, his voice trembling with a kind of anger Sanji has never seen him with before — frustrated, desperate. “You’re important to me, Cook.” 
  #23 - Child
Grow up and cast your dreams away, Sanji tells himself every day, the voice ringing in his ears; you stopped being a child deserving of a dream the moment you chained Zeff down to the ground.
  #24 - Now
Grow up and cast your dreams away, Sanji wants to tell himself, but the voice stutters, drowned out by the sight of the kid bleeding on the deck of Baratie — he’s a swordsman, too, acknowledged by none other than Dracule Mihawk himself — but a kid still, throwing himself headfirst towards the case of his dreams, steps unweighted by regrets.
  #25 - Shadow
Zoro doesn’t know which is worse — Sanji, forever running away from the shadow his brothers cast; or Zoro, chasing after someone who is no longer around to leave behind a shadow anymore.
  #26 - Goodbye
After Whole Cake Island, there’s a period of time where Zoro would follow Sanji around the ship like a lost puppy, unwilling to let the Cook out of his sight; Usopp definitely didn’t expect Zoro to have such a cute side, and crouches over his new invention to hide his smile.
  #27 - Hide
“We’re not doing that here,” Sanji hisses, and forces himself not to laugh at the pout on Zoro’s face; the galley might be secluded enough, but they’re still on the enemy ship’s galley.
  #28 - Fortune
It is annoying, the way Sanji keeps reminding Zoro that he could have collected Mihawk’s bounty and lived the rest of his life in wealth; especially when Zoro would trade any riches in the world just to stay by the Cook’s side.
  #29 - Safe
It catches Zoro off guard when Sanji starts talking about his mother; it’s a short anecdote, a single happy memory, but Zoro can tell by the way Sanji tells it — guarded and hesitant, like he wants to keep the words close and safe — that he has never shared it with anyone else before.
  #30 - Ghost
Usopp starts shaking like a leaf as soon as they enter the abandoned, dilapidated house, and Sanji gently tells him, sometimes the worst ghost is the one you create yourself; Zoro feels the weight of Wado on his hip, and agrees.
  #31 - Book
“I don’t need this,” Zoro grumbles with a blush, pushing the book back into Nami’s hands, trying hard to ignore Nami’s laughter and the words ROMANCE FOR DUMMIES emblazoned on the book’s jacket.
  #32 - Eye
Shusui sinks into the man’s stomach, all the way to the hilt, and Zoro thinks of the way Sanji curled into himself as the man landed a lucky hit on the cook’s hand. An eye for an eye.
  #33 - Never
“This is my first time,” Zoro whispers, head ducking away as he feels his face flush at the admission; but Sanji’s hand rests on his cheek, encouraging, and he can feel the curve of Sanji’s smile as their lips meet and Sanji replies, “it’s mine, too.”
  #34 - Sing
Luffy cheers when Zoro and Sanji comes into view, and he lets them take on the next batch of enemies; a good fight is always fun, but watching Zoro and Sanji fight is even more so — like watching a dance that only those two know the melody to.
  #35 - Sudden
“What, are we supposed to be surprised?” Nami says, barely looking up from the map she’s working on; Sanji sputters, face redder than the tomatoes he served during breakfast, and Nami feels almost bad for him.
  #36 - Stop
“But we — Zoro and I — how did you know?” Sanji asks, and promptly stops asking questions when he realizes the rest of the crew aren’t surprised either; who could blame them, when his and Zoro’s sexual tension can be seen from a mile away.
  #37 - Time
Sanji knows they have to break apart soon, just to breathe, but right now all he cares about is to taste as much of Zoro as possible — he has waited two years for this, and it has been two years too long.
  #38 - Wash
They have their fair share of fighting — and how, considering the amount of repairs Usopp has to do for Merry just from their petty fights alone — but what the crew doesn’t know is that they also have this thing, this quiet thing, just him and the Cook and a stack of dirty plates between them.
  #39 - Torn
“In retrospect,” Robin observes, “dressing up our dear cook in a maid uniform would not only lower the enemy’s firepower, but also ours, considering how distracted our swordsman has clearly become.”
  #40 - History
“Why do you keep him around, mister?” The kid asks, pointing at the old swordsman with three swords and an eye scar by the peer; Sanji laughs, pats the kid on the head, and says, almost wistfully — “you can say we have some history.”
  #41 - Power
Sanji tugs at Zoro’s sleeve, and Zoro follows suit despite his complaints — Sanji thinks, distantly, how much of an honor it is, to have so much control over such a powerful man.
  #42 - Bother
“I didn’t have enough time to make this three-tier ice cream cake for our lovely Nami-san and Robin-chan because you distracted me!” Sanji says with a hard jab of a finger against Zoro’s chest, and Zoro thinks, good .
  #43 - God
Zoro does not believe in gods, but there’s a hymn of a noise when Zoro presses his lips against the crook of Sanji’s neck, the hallelujah of the world breaking apart as their bodies move together, and he thinks, close enough .
  #44 - Wall
 Zoro slams his fist into the wall of Polar Tang, and is taken aback by the depth of his own frustration; he knows Luffy and the others will get Sanji back from Big Mom’s place, but it unsettles him still, the way Sanji hides himself under layers of pretenses when Zoro has bared so much of himself to the Cook in return.
  #45 - Naked
“What the fuck was that for , Mosshead?!” Sanji shrieks, justifiably furious, leg raised and on fire after Zoro sliced his tray into two without preamble; Zoro can’t exactly tell the Cook he did it because he was too surprised at the sight of Sanji in a swimming trunk and nothing else.
  #46 - Drive
Why Zoro , people sometimes ask, but the answer is easy to Sanji — nobody drives him crazy the way Zoro does, and is that not what true love feels like?
  #47 - Harm
Zoro knows Sanji will be furious ; but as he faces Kuma, knowing at least the Cook is out of harm’s way, he knows he would do this a hundred times over, a thousand times over, a million times over.
  #48 - Precious
Sanji is sitting by the corner of the infirmary, face pale with red-rimmed eyes, and Zoro thinks he’s never had that, before — people who would weep for him, knowing that he is more than dried scars and calloused skin.
  #49 - Hunger
This thing we have is dangerous, Sanji tells him, but Zoro doesn’t care — he already has a craving, the same way he needs a booze when it’s been too long, except he thinks that this vice will surely kill him.
  #50 - Believe
This isn’t faith; this is the truth, Zoro’s truth, the same way he knows he will become the Greatest — Sanji will find that elusive sea of his, and Zoro will stay with him until it is the last thing he can do.
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vhsrights · 3 years
Text
first “i love you” / love confession - @sapphicinephile
Love Isn’t Bound by Languages - Jemily
WC: 1612
IT’S FINALLY DONE. :)
“Kiss the cook? Don’t mind if I do, but only if the pasta turns out good.” JJ made strong eye contact, hoping that Emily caught on to the weight of her words.
“Oh, well then. I guess I’ll be getting kissed tonight. Lucky me.”
The door settled into place with a soft click and JJ walked to the side, removing her coat and shoes. She had brought the ingredients for their wine and cooking night. Fresh tomatoes, herbs, and pasta rustled around in the tote bag. They had opted to make pasta that Emily had suggested, remembering her time watching the cooks in her childhood kitchen. JJ had readily agreed because she was never one to turn down food and wanted to see Emily’s prowess in cooking. Speaking of the brunette, she wasn’t visible as JJ moved slowly through the apartment.
Warm candlelight engulfed the room in front of her. The skylight windows provided an unrestricted view of the world beneath her. It was humbling in a way that Jennifer couldn’t describe. She stood high in this tiny apartment, watching the people below her bustle about their lives, unaware of her gaze. Pulling her eyes away from the outside, JJ meandered around the apartment’s living room. Her eyes slowly perused the sparse art that was on the wall. It gave the apartment an air of grace, but one that felt fake and inauthentic to the woman that she knew lived within its walls.
“Jen.” The way that her nickname sounded, full of elegance, drove more butterflies into JJ’s stomach.
“Em, hey. I got the groceries. Are you ready?”
JJ turned around and was met with Emily. The woman looked unexplainably gorgeous in her casual flannel, t-shirt, and sweats combo. JJ felt her thoughts stutter as she took in the brunette. She couldn’t move as Emily glided past her, her gait full of confidence and aimed towards the kitchen.
“Hey, Jen. You coming?”
“Yeah. Yeah, sorry about that.” JJ turned around and followed Emily while blushing.
She was glad that it had been cold outside, giving her an excuse for her tinted cheeks.
“Alrighty, so first things first. Here is your apron.” Emily pulled out an apron that had “It’s not burnt! Just Crispy!” and JJ laughed. “Hey, I thought you’d like it.”
Emily fake a pout as JJ grabbed the apron and tied it around her waist, still giggling. The cloth somehow still managed to hang loose. Emily noticed and ignored her rapidly beating heart before speaking. She hid her hands in her pockets as they fidgeted increasingly harder to keep her guise of calmness.
“I can help you tie it, Jen. Here, I got it.” Emily pushed off from the counter and circumvented the blonde.
She grabbed the string of the apron. Her hands barely brushed against JJ’s waist yet sent jolts through both of them. Not wanting to prolong their closeness for fear of her heart’s desires, Emily deftly tied the bow. Luckily, or “unluckily”, there was a second set of strings to be tied around JJ’s neck. Of course, she had picked the apron with two sets of ties. Silently reprimanding herself, Emily pushed JJ’s hair to the side. Her hands hesitated as she worked up her nerve.
Stop making this weird. The longer you wait, the more off you’ll seem to Jen. Get it together, Prentiss. Jeez, you’re like a teenager with a crush.
“Em, you okay? Can you tie it?” JJ could feel her heartbeat in her throat, trying to suppress her nerves from bubbling up.
“Yeah. Yeah. It’s done.” Emily made haste in finishing the knot and answering her, pulling away to soothe her racing heart.
She grabbed her own apron and threw it on. This one didn’t have two ties. Lucky Emily. JJ began to giggle once more as she pulled the ingredients out of her tote bag, leaving Emily confused.
“What?” She truly had no idea what JJ was giggling at.
“Did they have a sale at the punny apron store?” Emily looked at her with ample confusion. “Kiss the cook? Don’t mind if I do, but only if the pasta turns out good.” JJ made strong eye contact, hoping that Emily caught on to the weight of her words.
“Oh, well then. I guess I’ll be getting kissed tonight. Lucky me.”
Two could play at this game. The words were no different from their usual banter. However, where they were, about to cook, made it a whole other playing field. Neither woman was one to back down from a competition. The two moved easily around the kitchen, shifting past each other as if they had been doing it for years. Emily’s straightforward instructions left nothing to be desired and helped the women accomplish their dish in the perfect amount of time.
JJ may have nicked herself with the knife a couple of times, but what’s art without a few hiccups. Italian music serenaded them softly from the background. It was like a scene out of a cheesy romantic movie, one that Emily pretended to hate but secretly loved. Both women stole plentiful yearning looks at each other. They caught each other’s eyes and were quick to tear them away.
“Jen, can I get a taste of that?” Emily rested her hand softly on JJ’s hip, leaning over her side to sip the sauce.
“Sure. Here.” JJ felt the warmth of Emily’s body behind her. She had to focus to keep her hand from shaking as she lifted it for the brunette.
Emily tasted the sauce and all but moaned at its illustrious flavors. JJ was extremely thankful that the brunette was standing behind her. Her cheeks had flushed at the sound and her body froze. God, she is trying to kill me. She set the spoon to the side and turned her focus back to the food, as much as her mind would allow. They worked in perfect harmony for the rest of the time; joking, laughing, dancing, and cooking together.
Emily eventually plated the food with JJ’s help. The women marveled at their creation, eager to dig into the dishes. They high-fived before separating one final time. JJ set the table and Emily did some basic cleaning in the kitchen.
“Rossi could never,” Emily smirked mischievously as the two sat down to eat.
“Oh, of course not. We are the new Papa Pastas.” JJ encouraged the joke, thinking to their older teammate’s staunch relationship to pasta.
The food not only looked enticing, but it also tasted heavenly. Both women didn’t speak for the rest of the dinner time, enraptured by their dinner. Emily and JJ occasionally glanced over at each other, conveying their content and other emotions. Neither own wanted to acknowledge the beautiful domesticity of the moment. This was something that both women wanted to do for the rest of their lives, held back by the barrier of unspoken words. Time passed on and the women moved from the table to kitchen, easily washing and putting away dishes for a later time.
Eventually they settled on the couch, heavily poured wine glasses in hand. The evening had gone perfectly.
“Wow. That was so delicious. I think that I owe a thanks to your mother’s cooks. That recipe was perfect.” JJ sipped her wine as Emily watched her with love in her eyes.
“Absolutely. They make me remember that simpler time. My world was so small, and they helped me get through each day.” JJ beamed, noticing the ease and tranquility that had erased the lines of strain and overworking from Emily’s face.
“Speaking of world, I have a question.” Emily thought of her question and smiled.
“Go for it, Em,” JJ spoke, with her interest peaked.
“If you could shout one thing from the rooftops, in any language, and to everyone in the world, what would you say?” Emily watched the light grow in JJ’s eyes.
The blonde’s eyes widened and her mind froze. She had been learning Italian in her spare time, trying to build the courage to use with Emily. She had only needed to learn one phrase, but the rest were useful as well. Now was her shot. Waiting a short second before inhaling deeply, JJ spoke the only phrase in Italian that she fully understood.
“Sono innamorato di Emily Prentiss.”
Emily stopped. Her brain went into overdrive. Translating and retranslating the phrase, hoping that it meant what she understood it to be. I am in love with Emily Prentiss. Her heart was beating in her throat and her thoughts were hazy. She set the wine glass down and looked at JJ, really studying her. She only saw love and admiration, not finding the joke or deceit that she imagined. This was really happening.
“Sono innamorato di Jennifer Jareau.”
The words rolled off of her tongue smoothly as they had done many a time before. Except now, Jennifer would actually hear it. JJ let out the breath she had been holding. I am in love with Jennifer Jareau. It was unbelievable, but her mind began to whizz through things to say.
The only thing that came out was, “Really?”
“Yes. From the first time I spoke to you, and so much more since then.” JJ couldn’t help but smile with all of the hope and love that was bubbling out of her.
“It was the same for me. I fell for you, so hard that I guess I didn’t see you falling for me too. So, can I?” JJ pointed at Emily.
“Can you what?” Not realizing that she hadn’t taken off her apron, Emily looked down.
Kiss the Cook.
“The pasta was beyond amazing, so I have to keep my promise.” JJ giggled and Emily rapidly agreed.
Emily pulled JJ in for a kiss. Their lips met and the world stopped around them. It was the perfect end to their night.
That night, JJ and Emily truly learned that love isn’t bound by languages.
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shih-coulda-had-it · 3 years
Note
37. NanaHiko, please
37. “Because I love you goddammit!”
Consider this my sourdough starter for a Nanahiko Die Hard AU. If it ever comes into a fully-realized oneshot spectacular, well. Maybe for Christmas. Anyways, this is, believe or not, a break-up scene.
//
Fighting with Sorahiko is never pretty.
To clarify, Nana doesn’t mean physical fighting. They’ve honed that particular aspect of their partnership to near-perfection (always room for improvement), and when Nana has extricated herself from a fight, sometimes she has enough time to watch Sorahiko work his brutally efficient magic on loose ends.
That kind of fighting is pretty from a professional point of view.
Anyway, what Nana means is—having an argument with Sorahiko. It’s not the first time they’ve engaged in a war of cold shoulders and barbed words, digging up old insults and humiliating stories, resolved to leave reconciliation to the other party.
Nana has always thought it boded well that it never took a mortal injury to get either her or Sorahiko to apologize. 
She is, however, very close to inflicting a mortal injury.
Sorahiko also looks close to committing partner-cide. They are spending a break from patrol by cooling their heels on a rooftop no employee bothers to spend a cigarette break at, and for the past ten minutes, have been politely exchanging words like, “Please do this,” and, “Fuck doing that.”
A full month has passed since Nana digested the whole conspiracy theory about a supervillain controlling Japan’s underground. En’s transferral of One for All had been traumatic for all parties involved, even if Sorahiko didn’t have to witness the horror that was the shoulder socket gushing blood and the half-buried body. Why? Because the first time Nana tested out her new Quirk, she had broken her notoriously hardy partner’s arm.
… It’s been a scary month all around.
“I’m not,” her partner grits out, “going to just quit being a pro-hero.”
“I didn’t say you should ditch the license,” Nana says reasonably.
“You might as well have!”
She rolls her eyes. “Splitting up for a solo career would probably mean better pay for you,” she reiterates. “Better pay, more taiyaki. You’d be a treat by yourself, Gran Torino. Any high-profile agency would want you on the payroll.”
“The salary isn’t the point,” Sorahiko snaps. 
“And you shouldn’t conflate your position as a pro-hero with your position at the Eyrie! Don’t let the agency limit your ambitions!”
“What ambitions?”
“You know,” says Nana, gesturing aimlessly. She’s trapped herself with that useless encouragement. Sorahiko is so thoroughly unambitious, he would let a pet rock win an election to Prime Minister. “Whatever made you get into heroics.”
He stares at her.
“Get out there,” she adds. “Chase your dreams.”
“You’re being stupid,” he says.
“Don’t start.”
Sorahiko starts. His mouth twists into a snarl, eyebrows drawing together under the mask, frustration creeping into his posture. He is madder than she’s ever seen him, and Nana once witnessed Sorahiko yell bloody murder at his landlord. The landlord had been reduced to tears, and furthermore, had reduced the rent for the entire complex.
Nana does not intend to yield.
“First you inherit a transferable strength Quirk that knocks you out of commission for a week,” he says, “then you get all weird about tanking hits you know I can take, and now you’re advising I leave the Eyrie by myself? For my own good?”
“Yes,” she says, already feeling miserable.
“Are you on some kind of power trip?”
“No!”
His gloved hands curl into fists, mirroring Nana’s, or maybe she is mirroring him. Another side-effect of being friends for so long; she can’t imagine what kind of pro-hero she is without Gran Torino next to her. 
A pro-hero that won’t drag their best friend into the worst conspiracy theory to come true. 
“I won’t quit until you do,” Sorahiko swears. “Are we partners or not?”
“Partnerships dissolve.”
He flinches back for once. “You don’t mean that.”
“People sometimes grow in different ways. It doesn’t mean they’re abandoning their partner, it’s just… You don’t have any obligation to hold my hand for my entire career. If there’s a roadblock ahead, and you see it, you should be able to jump out of the car, right?” 
“Shimura. Shut up.”
“I really mean it,” Nana continues doggedly. “One for All attracts way more attention than we agreed we should aim for, so if we split paths now, you don’t have to suffer all the cameras tracking and recording your moveset. Did I say cameras? I meant henchmen of some evil bastard. You didn’t sign up for this.”
“Don’t tell me what I did or didn’t sign up for,” he hisses.
“Well, I have to guess,” she says, “considering I never saw your origin story, haha!”
His face goes a blotchy pink, starting with his ears. Sorahiko’s jaw visibly clenches. Nana, however, is one-hundred percent serious. Despite being friends with Sorahiko from primary school up till now (excusing the few years of junior high), Nana still has no idea what drives Sorahiko to be Gran Torino.
Reuniting in Class 1-A of U.A. High had felt a bit like fate. 
“You have to guess?” he grits out, sounding slightly incredulous.
“You’re a very private person. Ah, don’t tell me I’ve somehow forgot it.” Nana puts her hands at her hips, trying to drag this fight back into friendly banter. “Not for the applause. Not for the legacy, assuming the Commission ever gets their memorial site set up. Are you sure it wasn’t for the money?”
“Shimura.”
“C’mon,” she says coaxingly. “What’s the dream-goal, Gran Torino? Why heroics?”
“Shimura.”
“Don’t worry about harming my feelings! Oh! It’s for your namesake, huh? Ah, Sorahiko, you really gotta let that one go, I don’t think you’d have any fun driving around these streets. You’ll just scare all the pedestrians into throwing tomatoes at your precious baby—”
“Because I love you goddammit!” Sorahiko shouts, barking it loud enough to frighten some voyeuristic pigeons. 
“What,” Nana says. She has to process his words even though they ring in her ears. His confession is a curse. Typical Sorahiko, Nana thinks hysterically, except this is not typical at all. Torino Sorahiko, admitting to love? 
Torino Sorahiko, not being done yet, rails on. “Because you’re my best friend, and I like myself when I’m with you, so stop trying to cut me out of your life! If you—if you hate me, then just say it! Say I’m annoying! Clingy! Useless! Don’t just tell me to step out the front door and leave you behind!”
Oh, he’s properly mad now.
Thing is, Nana’s mad too.
“Don’t you use that against me,” she says, fury seeping in, because how dare he? Like confessing to loving her settles this argument, some deus ex-machina device that will defuse Nana’s very sincere attempt to prevent Sorahiko from being murdered. She can’t believe the nerve of her partner, trying to manipulate the part of her that’s a hopeless romantic. “Don’t lie.”
“Lie?” Sorahiko echoes, enraged. “You think—?”
“I think you would do a lot of things to win a fight,” Nana seethes.
“You’re impossible.”
She wants to punch his stupid face so badly, but Sorahiko’s hands are already scrabbling at his domino mask, ripping it off. After blinking several times to reorient his senses, he refocuses his glare at her.
“What part of that confession sounded fake?” he demands, crumpling the black silk-composite in one fist.
“The timing. The whole concept. Everything!”
“You don’t think I’m capable of it?”
“I didn’t say that,” Nana objects, but her immediate gut reaction had been to say, I’m not worthy of it. She has a name for Gran Torino’s behavior now—his loyalty, devotion, affection—he tied himself to her so long ago, and Nana never even knew she was holding a leash. How unfair to him, how stupid and shortsighted of her.
Sorahiko takes a step into Nana’s personal bubble. He persists. “Say you hate me.”
She can see where Sorahiko wants to take this.
“Do you hate me, Shimura?”
Nana bites her tongue from its reflexive denial; when she tries to lie, it sticks in her throat.
“Do you really want me to go?” Sorahiko asks, and without his mask, he looks vulnerable. Pale brown eyes catching the sunset, gleaming gold. How much of Sorahiko’s life has been deferring his dreams to follow hers? What has he given up that Nana’s never asked about? Does he have any commitments outside of heroics? 
“I think,” Nana finally forces out, “we need some time apart.”
One beat of silence. Two.
“You’re not joking.”
“No.”
Sorahiko breathes, a steady and barely audible sound, and Nana finds herself mirroring it. She crosses her arms and looks to the horizon. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Sorahiko slowly uncrumpling his mask, smoothing out wrinkles with his forefinger and thumb. Methodical for a nervous tic.
“It’s not that you’ve done something wrong.”
“Spare me the bullshit,” he says. The bitter tone sends a chill through Nana’s heart, but she steels herself. “How long?”
“Long as we need,” she deflects.
“What’s the goal here?”
Nana glances at Gran Torino, notes the grim set of his expression, and restrains herself from poking at the down-turned twist to his frown. Instead, she says, “You said you like who you are when you’re with me. I don’t think you’ve ever really been without me, so… Figure yourself out, Gran Torino.”
“And Sky High?”
“We’ll shelve the idea for a later time,” says Nana weakly, as though running an agency together hasn’t been their—her?—dream since high school.
He grunts in acknowledgment.
Together, they survey the cityscape. They will finish the day’s patrol. Gran Torino will, for the first time, clock out early and storm home.
And Nana will quietly file her two-week notice.
There’s an international pro-hero exchange program being organized with the United States, and Nana intends to join. The probation period is a year; if Nana can make it through that, then she can apply to be a mentor to aspiring pro-heroes, all the while cultivating One for All on the side.
(She doesn’t mean to forget the confession. But then again, who knows if that’s really what Sorahiko felt for her?)
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another-sonic-blog · 5 years
Text
That Makes Us Two: Chapter 2: Duo
"Really? That makes us two? Couldn't you have come up with a better comeback?"
"I am a super-villain Rose, I don't do puns," Shadow walked past her, as she headed towards the end of the cave. Looking up to the moon, Shadow saw Amy approaching him.
"Well, seems like I'll be staying at your house for a while."
"What?" Amy questioned him. Even now, it was weird to be talking to herself like this. Swapping bodies like this wasn't in her schedule.
"Yes, I am Amy Rose after all. Wouldn't that just be the proper thing to do?"
Amy gave it a thought. He was right, in the eyes of everyone, Shadow was her. It would be weird if she wasn't living in her house all of a sudden.
"Fine, but I am staying with you!"
"You don't care if your blue boyfriend sees 'Shadow the Hedgehog' with you?", Shadow looked at Amy's body once more. "Not like he would care, his standards would be very low if he likes this much pink."
This was going to be a very long night.
.
.
.
Shadow regretted underestimating the pink one.
He opened his eyes as he felt the water dripping from his face to his body.
"Wake up you have to go take care of the children at the daycare!"
"I have to do what?"
"My vacations are over, meaning that I have to get back to work!" Amy looked over to Shadow who had now stood up from her bed. Friendly reminder, throw away the whole bed.
"Working as a hero doesn't pay much?"
"As a hero, you don't charge money and laying around won't pay my bills, so that's what I do. Now could you get ready?" Amy walked away as she headed to the kitchen. She needed to give herself more props, she even made lunch for Shadow.
"Well, that means that I must shower."
"Everything you need is in the bathroom, even clean clothes."
"That means that I would have to take off my clothes and see YOUR body."
"Ok," Amy said as she cut lettuce.
"It doesn't bother you?", Shadow was trying to get payback from earlier by making Amy embarrassed but so far he was failing at it miserably.
"It was obvious that this was going to happen at some point. Besides, I see you naked all the time, it's just a normal Mobian body, completely normal and nothing to be embarrassed about." Amy had finished cutting up the lettuce and had now moved into the tomatoes. Still not looking at Shadow. Always focused.
"Alright."
With that Shadow headed towards the restroom. Amy heard the click of the door and as she made sure he was no in the room, she felt into her knees.
"That damn hedgehog!", Amy thought as she covered her face. An evident blush covering her now mainly face. She didn't want Shadow to get away with this, no, not this. She could be embarrassed about many things but she wasn't going to let Shadow see her like this because of him.
Shadow could swear on his life that Amy would be embarrassed about him seem her nakedness. He hated to be wrong about things, but he had to admit that she was pretty mature when it came to this.
Unfortunately.
Shadow took a look at himself in the mirror. He had to admit that although pink wasn't his favorite color, it did suit the pink hedgehog. It made her green eyes shine brighter and her overall face was pleasing to look at-
Shadow shook his head, he was just not going to let his mind drift to somewhere he didn't want to. However, Amy looked wasn't his problem.
He closed his eyes and took off his clothes as he entered the shower.
Never, not even for a second he opened his eyes, not until he was dry and fully clothed again.
.
.
.
"How can you stand this thing around your chest?" Shadow said as he came out of the shower.
"It's called a bra, Shadow and yes I need it," Amy said still over the kitchen counter.
"Do you really?" Shadow questioned. One of the things he would never understand were females. Just why would they wear something like a 'bra' over his understanding.
"Here, this is your lunch. Now go and go take care of those kids."
"I never agreed to do that."
"What?"
"I never agreed to do your job, I only agreed to find the remainings of the Purple Gem with you and that's it!"
"But-but my job! I need that job to pay my bills and food!"
"It's not my problem"
"It is now! You haven't realized yet, you idiot! You are not the Ultimate Life Form anymore! I am! I don't need to eat, but you do! And if you-"
"Amy? This is Tails, we need you in the Village right now!"
Both Amy and Shadow looked at Shadow's wrist communicator. Tails was asking for help like crazy and Shadow never said a word.
"Amy? Amy? We need you right now!",Tails kept begging through the communicator.
"Shadow please, you need to help the village."
"Now you want me to be a hero? I am sorry I don't do 'good'"
"Shadow..." Amy looked at him with serious eyes. Amy had to admit that she knew very little about Shadow, there was nothing she knew about that could help her blackmail him. However, there was one thing that could work.
Play with his pride.
"If you don't do this I promise you that I would go not just around the village, but I would also go around the whole island, the whole world if necessary and I'll make a clown out of you! You would be known as the Ultimate Joke!" Amy threatened.
"...you wouldn't dare."
Check-Mate.
"Try me"
.
.
.
"Amy, you are finally here!", Sticks said as she fought robot by robot.
As soon as Shadow arrived, he noticed that Hedgehog Village was infested by robots. A lot of them. They were destroying the houses, burning down houses and chasing down civilians.
It was bad, even he acknowledges that.
"Where is that, um, two-tailed fox?", Shadow inquired, there was to be a plan they must follow to get rid of the robots and if anyone knew that plan, it was the yellow fox.
"Tails? He is using the Tornado to evacuate people with Sonic. Our job is simple, destroy all robots."
And that, Shadow could do.
"Go help your red friend, I'll take care of this," Shadow said as he stood in a fighting position, he noticed that there was burst army of robots were coming towards them.
"Are you sure?", Sticks asked, still a bit weird out that Amy had called Knuckles 'red friend' but she didn't give too much thought about it.
"Yes, now leave."
Sticks nodded as she runs to find Knuckles.
As Shadow made sure that the badger was out of sight, he was prepared to attack. They got closer and closer and finally, he decided to attack.
"Chaos...Blast!"
But nothing happened.
"I said...Chaos Blast!"
Again, nothing.
Shadow thought for a second, Amy was right. He wasn't the ultimate life form anymore. He didn't have his powers, nor the same strength. This was Amy's body and from all he knew, she only had a hammer. A hammer that he didn't know how to make it appear.
"Shi-"
And with that, all robots made its way across the village. Stepping on Shadow one by one.
"I told that pink brat I wasn't made to be a hero."
Shadow said as he spits the dirt out of his mouth.
He was lucky that he didn't feel any broken bones. Well, he didn't know for sure, he had never broken a bone before so he didn't know what it was feeling like.
Oh, but he couldn't move his left hand...Oh, yeah it was broken.
Just what the heck was this pain? He had never felt so hurt before, he took being the Ultimate Life Form for granted, that's for sure.
Now what? He failed Amy, he failed to be the hero and he failed to protect the village.
What a failure he was.
His thoughts were interrupted as he stood up and saw some dangerous-looking robots, he may not have his powers but he still definitely had his fighting abilities.
Hand to hand combat it is. Even if he can't use one of them.
The five robots approached him more and more. He was going to land the first punch but someone beat him to it.
There she was, Amy Rose using his body to defeat those robots like it was nothing.
Who knew that she was good at fighting without weapons?
"Wow I look like crap, well you do," Amy said as she inspected her own body.
"Why are you here?" Shadow looked at the ground, ashamed.
"I don't even know, but something inside of me was telling me that you needed me."
Shadow sighed.
"How can you even fight in this fragile body of yours?" Shadow asked angrily. One of the things he hated was being watched while he was defeated.
"It helps to have my hammer..." Amy said as she pulled out a hammer out of thin air. She placed it in front of him so he could pick it up. "It's pretty light for a weapon, you should be able to pick it up with one hand."
Shadow placed his right hand on it and expected to pick it up pretty quickly but to his surprise, it wasn't like it.
"I...I can't pick it up!", Shadow said as he struggles. The hammer wouldn't move an inch and they were in a hurry.
"I think I expected too much from you," Amy said as she began to walk away.
"What do you mean?" Shadow asked as he tried to pick up the hammer while watching her walk away.
"The hammer can only be picked up by those who want to use it for good...you only want the hammer to get revenge."
"Well yes, I do! Look at what they have done to me! To YOUR body!" Shadow yelled at her.
"The village is burning down and the only thing you care about is revenge?" Amy had a disappointed look. Deep down she thought Shadow would be worth it. That he wasn't all that evil. That maybe, just maybe...
"Pathetic," Amy sighed and ran, leaving Shadow to deal with himself.
.
.
.
Amy looked around the houses, inside and out. Public spaces and finally at the daycare she worked on.
There two kids trapped in a fire and as she made her way she noticed the kids tremble more in fear. "Of course, Shadow is not very well known as a 'good guy' around here." She thought.
More and more wood crumble down.
"Don't worry kids, I am here to help you get out of here."
Amy then noticed that two blogs of wood were about to drop on top of the kids. She jumped to protect them and got hurt instead, however, the pain wasn't all much noticeable for her. There was a bigger problem.
There was no way out now. They were traped, everything was on fire and the kids cried desperately.
"Chaos Control!" Amy said but nothing happened. She said it over and over again hoping that it would help her.
But nothing worked, and that was the only thing she could do.
.
.
.
That was when Shadow felt it. Something inside of him was telling him that Amy needed help. Like a type of energy begging him to get her and help her. It wasn't only her, there two other being with her that needed his help as well.
But he was useless, he couldn't even pick up the damn hammer. He closed his eyes, letting the ping bangs cover his face. He was defeated, he couldn't do anything. he can't do anything....just like before.
Chaos, he wasn't just going to stand and do nothing.
"Listen here you stupid hammer." Shadow said determined, looking at the pink weapon in front of him. "I am gonna go save that pink brat with or without your help. This is not about me anymore, I know I am not a hero, and never will. I evil and I want my revenge but..." He placed his hand around the hammer handle.
"...regardless of that, I am willing to let go of my pride, just so I can be worth it of you!"
.
.
.
Alright, this wasn't working. Amy couldn't infuse Chaos Control. There was only one way out. She was going to grab the kids and run out of the place as soon as she could. She could only pray to Chaos that the kids would get out of here as unharmed as possible.
Just why couldn't she be stronger? Even Shadow's body...she was still weak...so... so weak.
"Pathetic"
Amy opened her eyes as she recognized her own voice.
Shadow was standing right in front of her, holding her hammer with one hand as he destroyed a way for her and the kids to get out.
"More like weak, but I just won't let you see that side of me just yet" Amy teased him as she took the two kids and put them out of the burning daycare.
They were now on the Village's Street. As safe as they could be from a Village that was being torn down by robots.
"Alright Amy, I am going to teach you a thing about Chaos Energy," Shadow said as he threw his hammer to destroy a robot, the hammer came right back at him.
"Think your small brain can handle it?"
"If you were able to pick up my hammer, then you bet I'll learn how to use Chaos Control."
"I hope you are a fast learner then."
.
.
.
Three hours passed. Three hours that Team Sonic didn't know anything about Amy.
They used plains to put down the rain and the people of the Village were slowly making their way back to their house to see if there was anything worth saving.
Sonic and Tails were so busy evaluating and protecting the people from the robots that they never had the time to check upon the village. Knuckles and Sticks were on the other side of the Island as they saw more upcoming robots coming from the water.
As far as their knowledge, the only one protecting the Village was Amy.
And although the rest of team Sonic told him not to worry too much because Amy can take care of herself.
He still did.
He got to the village first and then, the rest of the people followed. Walking around, he moved his head from side to side to look for Amy but she was nowhere to be seen. He began to panic and ran towards the Village's plaza.
There she was, but she wasn't alone. There were two kids with her and...Shadow.
They were done. Completely burned out, injuries all over their bodies, but the kids were intact.
Sonic hurried up to look at Amy. Giving Shadow a nasty look.
"Stay away from her! I knew you meant bad! I am sure this is all your fault!", Sonic placed his hand on Amy's shoulder as he puts himself in front of what he thought it was Amy and the kids.
"Yes! I am sure that black hedgehog is the one responsible for our village being destroyed!", One villager said into the distance.
"We should capture him and put him in jail!"
"Yes!"
"Ouch!" Sonic turned to find Amy biting on his hand.
"I told you I would bite your hand off if you touch me again," Shadow said as he spits saliva out of his own disgust. "and Am- I mean Shadow was the one who helped me destroy the robots and he saved these kids...she- I mean he is..." Shadow looked at Amy and couldn't believe what he was about to say. "...he is much stronger than I thought"
Amy looked at Shadow... did he just complimented her?
Sonic noticed the two smiling at each other. There was a certain tension he couldn't describe...
"Yes, Mr. Gloomy helped us and kept us safe all the time! He is a real hero! Just like Ms. Amy!" One of the kids said while the other added in agreement.
"A hero", Shadow thought. He is...a hero?
And then, something weird happened...the Villagers began to clap and cheer for the three hedgehogs.
Maybe... maybe Shadow could get used to this.
"No, it ain't happening." He thought to himself.
He was extremely tired and wanted nothing more than to eat the lunch Amy made him in the morning.
.
.
.
"Do I really have to do this?", Shadow questioned.
"If you want to keep sleeping on my bed, then yes."
Shadow sighed, annoyed. They were both outside Sonic's shack. Before the day ended, Amy wanted Shadow to do something for her. To tell Sonic that nothing was going on between her and Shadow.
Defeated, Shadow gave Amy one more annoyed look to her as he was about to see the blue one.
"Oh, wait!" Amy stopped him on his tracks as he turned his body to face her one more time. "Let me tight up a bit more your bandages on your hand."
Amy delicately held Shadow's hand as she tightens up his bandages. "I don't want you to get hurt anymore"
Shoot, Amy didn't mean to say that out loud.
"Yeah, I don't want you to get hurt either." Shadow sad that without thinking. He kept looking at Amy's hands on his. Even now, it was weird to see his own hands-on hers. He had to admit that it wasn't that bad. Wait no!
"I mean, like, I don't want you to get hurt cause I still need you, you know! So I can get my body back! I want my body as unharmed as possible!"
"Uhg, just go and talk to Sonic, please. I'll wait for you at my house."
Amy let out of Shadow's hand and walked away.
What was she expecting?
.
.
.
"I just came here to tell you that nothing is going on with Shadow and I. That's it, goodbye."
Sonic looked at him with a surprised looked. "Ok, but are you alright? You have been acting strange lately."
Sonic knew Amy very well, she wasn't herself lately and he knew that very well. He thought that eventually, she would come up to him and tell him but there was no response whatsoever.
"I am alright. Now I'll take my leave." Shadow walked towards the door ready to call it a day but felt Sonic's hand touch his and he swears that this time he was going to break it for good.
"Look, I know I haven't been a good boyfriend to you lately. We have decided to keep our relationship a secret because it's for the best but I know that doesn't excuse my bad behavior towards you. I know this won't make up for it but here." Sonic had pulled out one of the missing broken crystals of the purple gem.
Well, I guess Shadow could let him go away with his one.
"Where do you find it?", Shadow inquiry's as he took the shattered crystal in his hand.
"I found it in the ground while evacuating the people and since I know you are into archeology and stuff, I thought you would like it." Sonic leaned forwards the pink hedgehog in-front of him, expecting a kind kiss or a hug, or just anything Amy would do for this kind of situations. He closed his eyes waiting for his pink lover to do the rest.
But like hell was Shadow gonna do it.
Not now, not ever, not in a million years.
No, no, no!
He took this opportunity now that Sonic was distracted, open the door and left the shack as fast as his legs allowed him to.
Leaving Sonic surprised but most importantly happy. "That girl is still so crazy for me"
.
.
.
Next Chapter: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/186691118880/that-makes-us-two-chapter-3-affliction
Previous Chapter: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/186691054045/that-makes-us-two-chapter-1-switched
11 notes · View notes
ficswithrimi · 6 years
Text
Mine (Chapter 6)
Tumblr media
TITLE: MINE
PAIRING: NOCTIS LUCIS CAELUM X READER
GENRE: ANGST, ROMANCE
TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF BLOOD, VIOLENCE, DEPRESSION, MINOR SEXUAL CONTENT, AND SUICIDE ATTEMPT
SYNOPSIS: DAUGHTER OF A NIFLHEIM SOLDIER, YOU WERE SENT OUT TO TENEBRAE TO SPY ON THE NOX FLEURET FAMILY AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE LUCIS CAELUM FAMILY. HOWEVER, AFTER LEARNING THE TRUTH ABOUT NIFLHEIM, YOU BETRAY THEM. YOUR JOURNEY OF REVENGE BEGINS AFTER LEARNING OF THE DEATH OF YOUR ADOPTIVE SISTER, LUNAFREYA, AND YOUR CHILDHOOD FRIEND NOCTIS LUCIS CAELUM.
FIRST CHAPTER
PREVIOUS CHAPTER
NEXT CHAPTER
A/N: So look, I wanted to get to the Titan in this chapter BUT so much was happening and next thing I know I’m at 6k and I’m like whoa there, long chapter, chill out. My cutoff for chapters is like 4-5k but this one went over cuz, ugh, so much! Anyways, I know Y/N is confusing right now cuz one minute she’s all up for the boys and second she’s like nah but REMEMBER! She didn’t want to travel with them in the first place cuz... well if you read the story, you know why. Anyways, enjoy this long ass chapter! 
         Your ears perked up slightly as the shuffling around the room awakened you from your sleep. Your eyes remained shut as you weren’t ready for the blinding sunlight that usually shone from the huge uncovered windows in Lunafreya and your shared room to fully wake you up. You stifled in a giggle as you heard Lunafreya apparently stub her toe against something. It was quite weird as you were usually the clumsy one and not the oracle. Lunafreya was always an early bird and tried to quietly move around the room as she prepared herself for the day. You were surprised she hasn’t ran over to you to awaken you and beg you to have breakfast with her. She’d be surprised to see you were already awake. Stretching on your comfortable bed, you turned your body to face upwards and opened your eyes to meet a plain beige ceiling. Confusion immediately washed over you as the room you’ve shared with your sister since you were nine had always been a solid white. Blinking, you sat up and realized you were not in your bedroom in Tenebrae.
           “Ah, Y/N! Morning! Did I wake you? I’m sorry!” A young girl greeted you with a sheepish smile on her face. She was amid applying some mascara in the mirror that hung on the wall near the door.
           “I…um…” You swallowed as you stared at the girl. She resembled… Gladiolus. Suddenly, the events of the past few days came rushing back to you. You were traveling with Prince Noctis and his friends in search of Lunafreya. Well, they had other tasks at hand but your main – and only – task was to reunite with your sister. Along with this, you remembered that the girl you shared a room with was Gladiolus’s – Gladdy Daddy as you preferred to call him – younger sister. That explained the resemblance.
           “Well since you’re up, get dressed! I think Noct and the others already up!”
           “Get dressed...? Oh – oh! For the temple we’re going to today?” You asked as you began to climb out of bed. You glanced down and saw yourself in a black ruffle-y nightgown and scrunched up your face. The memory of Iris letting you borrow some of her clothes also flashed through your mind. You just couldn’t wait to see what outfit she had planned to let you use for today.
           “No! That’s later. We’re going shopping for some more clothes for you, remember? Noctis is joining us!” Iris grinned at you through the mirror.
           “Why?” You arched a brow. Noctis didn’t seem like the type to want to follow two girls on a shopping trip. Granted, you weren’t too fond on attending the trip as well but you couldn’t continue to travel in your tattered clothes that you’ve been wearing since you first arrived in Insomnia.
           “I wanted him to come…” She said shyly, a light blush appearing on her face. This caused a smirk to instantly appear on yours.
           “Ah, I see. You have a crush on my future brother-in-law,” You teased her while reminding her that Noctis was, in fact, engaged to your sister.
           “Wha-? No! I don’t like Noct like that! He’s like way older than me and-“
           “Chill. I’m kidding. I won’t tell Noctis you have a crush,” You got up and headed towards the bathroom. Before you closed the door to get ready, you turned to face Iris and threw a sly smirk at her. “I’ll just tell Gladdy instead.”
           “What!?” Iris shouted, her face now red as a tomato. You laughed as you slammed the door behind you. Sighing, the smirk fell off your face as a thought came to your mind. Why did everyone like Noctis? First Lunafreya and now Iris? Was there something about the shy prince you were missing… or were you just refusing to acknowledge it?
~!~
           “It’s cute, right? What do you think, Noctis?”
           “Uh… it’s… um… do I really have to be here?”
           “Yes!”
           You frowned at the two in front of you stood as you stood in a black skirt similar to Iris’s plaid one, black fishnets, combat boots, and an oversized black hoodie that you felt yourself drowning in. You had no idea as to why Iris picked out these large clothes for you as you and she were similar in size minus the fact you had more curves than the teenager. Noctis rubbed the back of his neck in annoyance as he verbally and physically expressed how he didn’t want to be here. In fact, he’s mentioned several times how he could still be asleep and resting for the trip to the temple later in the day right now. You were about to agree with him until you saw the disappointed look in Iris’s eyes and told the prince to suck it up.
           “Quit whining and give me your opinion…” You frowned.
           He rolled his eyes before looking at you with dread. “You look like you’re drowning in fabric.”
           “Hm…” Iris said as she did a full circle around you. “I think it’s cute… and you need space to fight in…”
           “Well, to be blunt,” Noctis and Iris looked at you as you began to finish speaking. “I hate this. I hate skirts and dresses as I am, or was, considered a princess for a majority of my life and had to wear them literally every day. And everything you pick out for me, Iris, no offense, is way too big.”
           “I – uh, sorry! I didn’t even consider the fact we may have different styles. And no worries, no offense taken! What kind of clothes do you like?”
           “What about this, princess?” Noctis held a pair of black, leathery leggings and a white cropped sleeveless top. You arched a brow as you took the clothing from him. Now this was more your style.
           “It’s more of my style but something is missing…” You continued to eye the clothes. The leggings, though giving off a leathery appearance, seemed stretchy enough for you to move around easily in when battles occurred.
           “What about a cute jacket? Maybe a leather one to go along with the leggings?” Iris offered. You snapped your fingers at her idea and nodded her head.
           “I have a leather jacket I brought from home. You can use it. It’s in the trunk of the car,” Noctis shrugged. You grinned at this.
           “I think I just found my new outfit to travel in!” You grinned excitedly.
           “Great! Now for bras and panties!” Iris shouted excitedly. You and Noctis both groaned at the mention of it.
~!~
Noctis’s POV
             “Seriously, how long does it take for girls to change?” Noctis grumbled as him and the other guys sat on the couch in the lobby of the hotel. They had planned to get to the royal tomb before nightfall but Y/N was taking a while to get dressed in her attire.
           “Get used to it. Lunafreya may take even longer.” Prompto joked.
           “Yeah, imagine waiting for her to get ready to go to a royal ball or something,” Gladiolus played along. Noctis just let out a groan at the thought.
           “Though it may take them a while to get ready, it is all worth it in the end,” Ignis cleared his throat as he scrolled through his phone.
           “Yeah, but still-“
           “It was worth it,” Prompto immediately cut off Noctis as his eyes widened as he landed on the person descending the stairs.
           “Damn…” Gladiolus let out a low whistle as his eyes were watching the same thing as Prompto. Noctis looked from his friends and to the stairs where his eyes landed on Y/N. The young woman walked down the stairs towards them in her new clothes. The leggings hugged her legs tightly, showing off her curves. The white cropped top revealed her slim waist but the kicker was the jacket she wore – Noctis’s jacket to be more specific. The large black leather jacket hung loosely on the woman but in a complimenting way. She looked…
           “Amazing! Wow! You’re so pretty, Lady Y/N!” Noctis looked down as Talcott stared star-struck at Y/N.
           “Thanks. Noctis seems to know my taste in clothing,” Y/N winked at Noctis. The prince felt his face heat up at the acknowledgement and cleared his throat.
           “Right, so, shall we go?” Noctis asked, avoiding looking at Y/N in the process. Why did she look so good in his jacket?
           “Indeed. We want to make it before night fall. Y/N are you ready?”
           As Ignis said that, Y/N suddenly summoned her daggers. Everyone’s eyes widened at the sudden motion but Y/N just smirked. “Ready as ever.”
~!~
Your POV
           One thing you didn’t think you could get used to were the immense temporary pain Noctis felt after receiving his powers from his ancestors. This was only the second tomb you guys had traveled to and still it hurt you to see him in pain. What was worse you couldn’t do anything to ease his pain. Then on top of that, he was getting these intense headaches that made him cry out in pain and tense up. It freaked you out, none the less. Who could blame you, though? Just a couple days ago he was rumored dead along with Lunafreya. Now that you knew both were alive – and somewhat well – you made it one of your underlying duties to reunite the two. You didn’t think the headaches were deadly but you could never be too sure.
           You sat in the backseat of the Regalia, squished between the prince and his shield once more, as you guys made your way back to Lestallum to stay an extra night before heading off in the morning. Noctis told you guys that morning that he had to visit the God, Titan. Apparently, he was the cause of the headaches and Noctis had to visit him. You weren’t up for meeting any of the Gods but if it would stop Noctis’s pain then you’d sacrifice your dislike of them for his sake. He was your somewhat beloved future brother-in-law after all.
           Noctis was currently having a killer headache as Ignis sped down the road to get back to Lestallum before sunset. The older man refused to drive during night because of the daemons. You watched helplessly as Noctis gripped his head and leaned against the door. His eyes were squeezed tightly together and a frown was on his lips. It reminded you of when he was asleep that night in the tent and looked miserable. Was he having a headache then as well? Carefully, you reached a hand out and gently touched his arm. He jumped slightly from your touch but seemed to overall calm down. You didn’t remove your hand from his arm as you rubbed small circles with your thumb on his skin. Lunafreya used to do this whenever your neck pains started up. It usually calmed you down and you believed it caused your pain to fade. Apparently, Queen Sylva used to do this with Lunafreya and Ravus whenever they were in pain.
           You jumped slightly as you felt his gloved hand come across yours to stop you. He left it over top of yours for a while before removing it from his arm. He straightened his position in this seat and finally looked forward as Lestallum came into view. Ignis glanced back at him through the rearview mirror.
           “You okay, Noct?”
           “Yeah… another headache is all…”
           “Are you sure you’re gonna be okay to wait until tomorrow to go see the Titan?” Prompto asked as he turned in his seat to look at the raven-haired prince. Noctis gave him a gentle smile with a weak nod before turning his head and staring out at the scenery.
           You looked down at your hand that he was still holding – more like gripping – as he rested his chin in the palm of his other hand. You could sense he was still in pain as he gripped your hand but didn’t want to worry the others. Sighing, you let your head fall back on the headrest as you let him grip your hand. You didn’t mind comforting the prince but you just hoped he’d let your hand have a chance to breath before you guys returned to Lestallum.
~!~
           “Arf, arf!” An excited Pryna barked as she found her owner resting in one of the many motels of Lucis. The oracle had just come from talking to Ramuh in hopes of getting him to forge alliances with Noctis. The God didn’t seem up for it as He yet to believe Noctis was the Chosen King. Lunafreya told the God she would try again tomorrow as she was overwhelmed for the day as summoning a God took an extreme amount of energy – and her life – away from her.
           “What is it – oh -Umbra!” Lunafreya said half excitedly as the grey dog followed in behind Pryna. Umbra had been out attempting to locate Y/N but with little success. Lunafreya knew that if anyone could find Y/N, it would be Umbra as the two held a close connection to one another as she did Pryna. Umbra barked loudly as he wagged his tag at his owner. Lunafreya arched a brow as she saw the notebook attached to Umbra’s collar. Noctis had responded to her latest message from her. At the time of the attack, she didn’t think to ask the prince if it was possible he’s seen her sister. Y/N was strong and usually could handle herself. However, Lunafreya held a nervous feeling as no word of her sister came from Umbra or Gentiana. She even tried reaching out to Ravus with no luck as he was too busy assisting the Empire to talk to her. She guessed she’d had to tell him of Y/N’s status when she temporarily returned to Tenebrae after getting Ramuh to agree with her asking.
           “Ah, Noctis responded. Have you… anything from Y/N,” Lunafreya asked, already knowing the answer. The dog’s tail lowered along with his head as he instantly recognized the name of his close – and favorite – friend and his owner’s beloved little sister. Letting out a heavy sigh and swallowing back her tears, the oracle leaned down and unfastened the notebook from Umbra’s collar.
           Still rolling along. -Noctis
           Grabbing a pen from the nightstand beside her bed, Lunafreya began to scribble down her reply along with something she wouldn’t know if she would want to know the answer to or not:
           See you soon. Also, perhaps, is Y/N with you…? -Luna
~!~
           “Your headaches are guaranteed to go away after we meet this Titan guy, right?” You asked as the five of you walked towards the Regalia the next morning. Ignis had mentioned at breakfast he didn’t know exactly where to go to meet the Titan but Jared wrote it down on his map for him.
           “I hope so…” Noctis said.
           “If they don’t then we know it’s not the big guy and it’s probably a head cold or something. I’m sure it’s not serious, Y/N,” Prompto threw a grin at you which you responded with a blank, unamused expression.
           “If you say so…”
           As you guys reached the parking area, you noticed a red convertible parked beside the Regalia. You didn’t know exactly why, but seeing the car made your heart drop to your stomach. It was as if a horrible feeling came over you. Glancing at the guys who appeared unfazed about the car, you secretly summoned your daggers.
           “Well, fancy to run into you boys again and, ah, I see you picked up someone else along the way!” A man’s voice said from behind you. The boys immediately turned around as you continued to face the opposite direction. That voice… you’ve heard it before. The sound of it caused your stomach to churn as the feeling something bad was going to happen washed over you like a tidal wave.
           Prompto had seemed to have noticed how you had summoned your weapons and how tightly you were gripping on to them. He gave you a slight nudge to tell you to put them away.
           “Ah, a little rude one, is she not?” The man chuckled. “Allow me to introduce myself… Ardyn-“
           “Izunia,” You said as you finally turned around and faced the man you knew as the chancellor of Niflheim. As a sworn traitor and hostage to the Empire for the past 12 years, you taught yourself to know about every person in power in case they ever tried to cross the line with Lunafreya or you again.
                       “Ah, is that… my look how you’ve grown, Lady Y/N!” Ardyn smirked at you, causing goosebumps to appear on your arms. “I thought the disrespectful behavior of yours seemed familiar.”
               “Lady Y/N? How does he know you?” Prompto asked as his eyes widened as he turned to face you. The other men threw curious looks at you as well. You squinted your eyes at the man as you knew he was well aware as to who you truly were, or more importantly, where you originated from.
               “As hostage of the empire, I had no choice but to know him,” You said through gritted teeth, your hands gripping tighter on your daggers, if possible.
               “Ah, you make me sound like a bad person! I’m not the one who betray-“
               “Why are you here?” You cut him off before he could finish his sentence. The man let out a chuckle as he seemed to pick up on what you were doing.
               “I’ve come to show you all the way to the Titan! I figured the sudden uproar at his resting place had something to do with his highness here,” Ardyn nodded his head towards Noctis.
               “No thanks, we’re capable of reaching the Titan on our own,” Noctis said as he shot another glace at you. He didn’t particularly trust Ardyn but he could tell from your disposition that he made you uncomfortable.
               Ardyn let out a chuckle as he walked closer to your group. Instinctively, Gladiolus and Prompto blocked his way to you. At this, Ardyn raise a brow before shaking his head. “Lady Y/N, I bring you, nor you newfound friends, any harm. I’m on your side.”
               “I highly doubt anyone from Niflheim is on our side,” Ignis frowned at the man. Ardyn let out another chuckle at this. You knew he was laughing at you. You’ve been on the prince’s side for the last 12 years despite originating from Niflheim where everyone was taught the Lucis Caelum family were bad news. Hearing Prompto make a small grunt, you turned in his direction. Did what Ardyn say affect him as well? He must’ve didn’t like how he was indirectly coming at you. Then again, why would that bother him as no one in the group knew of your true background?
               “Look, there’s imperial bases you have to cross in order to reach the majestic Titan and what better way to have a smooth ride then have me escort you?” Ardyn smirked. Noctis rolled his eyes at the older man.
               “What do you want in exchange?” Noctis arched a brow.
               “Why, your highness, it hurts me you that you think I won’t escort you for free,” Ardyn pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “However, you are right. I only ask for one thing…”
               “And that is?”
               “Lady Y/N there will ride with me on the way to the Titan-“
               “No way in hell,” Gladiolus said as he shielded you more. Meanwhile, you arched a brow at the chancellor. What was he up to?
               “Y/N is riding with us because she’s one of us now,” Prompto glared at the man.
               “Ah, then I guess you’ll have to fight through the imperial bases alone then. Such a waste of time. Wouldn’t want those headaches to become deadly along the way, do we?”
               At the mention of Noctis’s headaches potentially becoming deadly, you whipped your head to look at the prince. Your eyes immediately met his azure ones that were filled with worry and screaming at you to refuse to go. Turning back to Ardyn, he arched a brow at you as if waiting for your response. The boys didn’t really have a say whether you would go or not. It was all up to you. Sighing, you put away your daggers and pushed past Prompto and Gladiolus.
               “Y/N, you don’t have to go with him!” Prompto said as you walked towards Ardyn with a grimace on your face.
               “It’s fine. I can handle myself. Besides,” You looked towards Noctis and noticed his fist was in a tight ball. You couldn’t tell if he was having another headache coming on or just pissed at Ardyn. “The sooner your headaches stop, the better, right?”
               Noctis undid his fist as you said this and looked at you again. Nodding your head gently at him, you turned to Ardyn. “Looks like I’m riding with you.”
               “Great,” Ardyn smirked. “Don’t worry, fellas, she’s in great hands.”
~!~
               You frowned as you held down your hair to hide your scar that the wind tried to expose. Ardyn seemed to have noticed this as he shifted his eyes briefly over to you and smirked.
               “Ah, still trying to cover up your true identity, huh?”
               “Eyes on the road, chancellor,” You spat back at him with hatred laced in your voice.
               “So hostile. I thought we were friends, Lady Y/N?”
               “Friends with you? You can kiss my a-“
               “Language,” Ardyn took a hand off the steering wheel and wagged his pointer finger in your face. You tossed his hand aside in response.
               “What is it that you want? Why are you here? Why are you constantly meeting with Noctis? Wasn’t killing his father enough?”
               “Ouch, that hurts me to think you’d think I’d take a parent away from their child,” He pretended to flinch at your words. “However, I’m not the one who killed the king. In fact, the one who killed his highness is an old friend of yours… well more like was now.”
               “What do you mean?” You arched a brow in confusion.
               “I suppose you don’t recall the one who gave you that scar and killed your adoptive mother in the first place do you?”
               Your eyes widened at his words as only one name popped into your mind: Glauca.
               “Daddy, I wanna be just like General Glauca when I’m older!”
               “You will be if you succeed in the mission, my child.”
               “Let this forever be a reminder of the day you betrayed your country.”
               You winced in pain as you felt your scar suddenly begin to throb. Instinctively, you placed your hand on the mark and tried to press down on it for the pain to subside.
               “Oh no, are you in pain? Does the reminder of your betrayal hurt you?”
               “What the fuck…” You inhaled a deep breath as a sharp pain shot through your neck, “Do you want?”
               “Your cooperation, is all.”
               “With?”
               “Well, the Empire is well aware that you’re still alive - you can thank your brother’s training of you for that – and now that I see you’ve teamed up with Noctis, I think the Empire can benefit from you once more.”
               “Why would I help you guys when you tried to kill me as a kid?” You clenched your teeth. It was like with every word Ardyn spoke, the pain in your neck intensified. Your neck pains had been doing well as you haven’t felt as much as a tingle in the past couple of months. So why was the pain suddenly returning now?
               “But did we kill you? No. Listen, Y/N, don’t you miss your dad… your real dad? He’s still alive, you know?” Ardyn glanced over at you just in time to see your eyes widen at the mention of your father. The father who disowned you as a nine-year-old and who was going to watch silently as Glauca attempted to take your life. Despite this, your heart still sometimes ached for the man who took care of you from your infancy up until the attack on Tenebrae. “Ah, did I hit a soft spot?”
               “I don’t have a dad…” You said softly before wincing at the pain in your neck.
               “He misses you, I’m sure-“
               “Bullshit.”
               “He does! What he wouldn’t give to see his only child again? I could give you that opportunity if you cooperate with us once more. I mean, look at how far you’ve gotten us! If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to take over Tenebrae, kill Queen Sylva, and convince the high commander, your brother, to take your life-“
               Ardyn immediately stopped talking and slammed the breaks as you summoned your daggers and aimed one at his throat. He lifted his hands off the wheel in surrender as he slowly shifted his eyes over to you. The deep frown and the fire in your eyes told him you weren’t playing around with his games anymore. Smirking, Ardyn shifted his eyes to the rearview mirror as he watched the car full of guys behind him go into full alert. What caught his attention the most, however, was the prince who was in the driver’s seat. Ardyn’s eyes met his briefly but could see the hatred and confusion the prince’s expression held as he tightly gripped the steering wheel.
               “Tell me, what do you mean to Prince Noctis?”
               “Why the hell does that matter to you?” You spat in Ardyn’s face. Again, he chuckled before taking his hand to wipe your saliva from the bridge of his nose. His sudden movement caused you to bring the dagger closer to his neck, just barely touching his skin.
               “If I were you,” Ardyn lowered his voice as his eyes went slightly dark, “I’d be a good girl and put those away. I would hate for you to make a mistake and hurt me… which would result in the deaths of your beloved sister and, what is he to you, brother-in-law?”
               At the mention of Ardyn, or the Empire, hurting Lunafreya and Noctis, you loosened the grip on your daggers and slowly removed the blade away from his neck.  Glaring at the man, you repositioned yourself in your seat and put your weapon away.
               “Ah, good girl! Now, I say we pull over and catch some Zs before continuing, shall we?” Ardyn smiled as he started the car up again. You didn’t say anything as you tried to move your body as far away as possible from him, leaning against the car door. Sighing, you worriedly looked through the side mirror at the boys behind you. You couldn’t let them nor Lunafreya get hurt. No matter how much you wanted to end Ardyn’s life right then and there, you had to put them above you.
~!~
               “Y/N! Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Why’d he suddenly stop in the middle of the road like that?” Prompto worriedly asked you as he did a one-over to make sure you weren’t hurt anywhere. You guys had pulled over at a motel as Ardyn claimed he was too tired to carry on for the day. Luckily, he didn’t force you to share a room with him and allowed you to return with the boys. Tomorrow, you decided, you would travel with the guys no matter how much Ardyn begged you to ride with him again.
               “I’m fine, Prompto, thanks,” You said nonchalantly as you and the guys sat outside at the small diner in front of the motel.
               “You looked like in you were in pain when we arrived earlier, you good?” Gladiolus asked. You just nodded at him.      
               “Just my neck. No big deal.”
               “You still get neck pains?” Noctis suddenly spoke up. You met his eyes temporarily before nodding your head.
               “Still?” Prompto asked confusedly.
               “Y/N suffered from an incident that left her permanently scarred as a child, am I correct?” Ignis asked as he pushed up his glasses.
               “I said it’s no big deal!” You yelled, startling the boys and several people who sat at the other nearby tables. Pushing the plate of food in front of you away, you stood up. “I’m going for a walk.”
               “Do you want one of us to come-“
               “No, Prompto, Gods. I just want to be alone,” You snapped on the blond before storming off. As you walked past the motel that you guys would be staying at, you saw a group of people standing around a radio that was talking about Lunafreya. Hearing the name of your sister made your body freeze as you unconsciously walked over to listen as well. As you approached, you heard the broadcaster mentioning how the people of Eos were mourning the death of Lunafreya. You blinked in confusion. She hasn’t told anyone yet that she was still alive? Why was she keeping it a secret? Did it have something to do with her completing her official duties as oracle?
               Just as you thought that, the broadcaster began to talk about how Lunafreya was the youngest oracle in her bloodline. Immediately, your mind was taken back to the day she became the official oracle. You were only 13 then and still slightly confused as to what it meant for Lunafreya to be the oracle.
               Eight Years Ago
               You stood beside Gentiana as you watched in awe along with the crowd that surrounded you as Lunafreya came walking down the gardened path that would lead to the trident that would officially give her the powers to make her oracle. People from all of Eos had come to see this eventful day. Lunafreya had been practicing her speech for days with you and Gentiana being her only audience. The 16-year-old was nervous to say the least. When Gentiana wasn’t around, she’d sulk and share her concerns with you about how she didn’t think she was fit to be oracle yet and how she could never live up to her mother or ancestors. Though you weren’t entirely sure what being an oracle included – besides keeping the light in the world from the progressing star’s scourge – you still reassured her that she’d be great, and that Queen Sylva would’ve been proud of her.
               Lunafreya was beautiful in her official oracle attire, you thought. She wore a long white hooded robe with different accents on it. Her hood was covering her styled up blonde hair and silver chains hung from it around her neck. Since she was the youngest oracle and the robes had been passed down since the first oracle of Eos wore them, it was a bit too big for the 16-year-old’s frame. However, Lunafreya pushed through as if it didn’t bother her.
               You looked down at your own attire - a white pencil skirt that stopped at your knee caps, white heels, and a white turtleneck sweater. Though it was the middle of summer, you were advised to wear something that would cover your scar on your neck to prevent questions of how it happened. Since the Empire decided to cover up Queen Sylva’s death with the story of a fire, they feared people would figure out the truth if they saw your unnatural marking. Your hair, which you purposefully kept in a short bob-like cut, was barely long enough to cover the marking. One simple gust of wind could reveal the scar that resided on the right side of your neck. The people attending the event eyed you weirdly as they probably wondered why you were wearing such an outfit in this heat.
               Shaking the thoughts from your head, you looked to the other side of the crowd where Ravus and other Imperials stood. Ravus was staring blankly at his sister as she made her way down the aisle, greeting those who cheered and waved at her along the way. Though his face was expressionless, you knew he was proud of his little sister for stepping up to her oracle duties. Feeling someone looking at him, he looked over to you where his blue eyes met your own. He gently nodded his head at you, which you returned, before returning his gaze to Lunafreya. Your heart sped up as Lunafreya got closer to you. You always admired your sister, but it was in this moment you found yourself truly looking up to her.
               “So…” You softly spoke as you looked up to Gentiana. “Will I become oracle, too, one day?”
               Gentiana gently smiled at you as she shook her head. “Oracles only run in the Nox Fleuret family…”
               “I am a Nox Fleuret, though…” You blinked at the messenger.
               “Not by blood, young one.”
               “Blood shouldn’t matter. I’m part of their family. I was considered a princess. People call me Lady Y/N. I am a Nox Fleuret… whether the Gods see me as one or not…” You said sternly before turning away from the woman. You felt her eyes piercing into your skin, but you ignored it as Lunafreya finally reached you. Your eyes lit up as she briefly stopped her walk and walked towards you, clasping her fingers in between yours. She gave you a nervous grin as you nodded your head in reassurance to her.
               “You’ll be fine,” You said as you let go of her hands.
               “What would I do without you?” She whispered as she stepped away from you, briefly bowing at Gentiana, before continuing her walk.
Present Day
               Letting out a frustrated sigh, you walked away from the crowd and began walking down the road alongside the rest area. The sun was beginning to set as orange and pink hues filled the evening sky. The daemons would be out at any moment now, you knew it. Still, this didn’t stop you from wandering away from the haven. What Ardyn had said to you earlier was eating away at you. Why was the empire seeking your help again so many years later? Didn’t they ruin your life enough as is? They murdered your mother, turned your brother against you, killed King Regis, and attempted to kill not only you, but Lunafreya and Noctis as well.  It was too much. You just wanted things to go back to normal. You just wanted Lunafreya to finally be happy with the one she loved – Noctis. To see her happy… it’s all you wanted, and you wanted to give that happiness to her in repayment for all that she’s done for you in the past 12 years.
               “Hey, wait up!” You heard the deep, rough voice of Gladiolus along with his heavy footsteps catching up to you.
               “I said I want to be alone,” You frowned but stopped walking so he could catch up. He inhaled a deep breath before letting it out.
               “You’re a fast walker,” He playfully grinned. However, when he saw you didn’t return the look, it fell from his face. “Are you okay? It seemed like what Iggy said back there hit a nerve.”
               “As I told Prompto,” You placed your hands on your hips and glared up at the muscular man. “It’s no big deal. Geez, why can’t you guys get that through your heads?”
               With that, you began marching off again.
               “We care about you. That’s why,” Gladiolus’s words stopped you once again. “Yeah, you’re Lady Lunafreya’s sister or whatever, but you’ve really grown us all personally in the last couple of days as well.”
               “My goal is not to befriend you guys but to be reunited with my sister.”
               “Well…” Gladiolus rubbed the back of his neck. “That may be true, but you seem to like us as well. I mean… you got so worried about Noct-“
               “Noctis is my future brother-in-law!” You whipped around to look at Gladiolus, tears in the brim of your eyes. “I care about Noctis because he’s important to Lunafreya. He needs to be alive and well when they are reunited so she can be happy again!”
               Gladiolus arched a brow before letting out a heavy breath. “Let’s just go back to the motel. It’s getting dark and the daemons…”
               You balled your hand into a fist as you bit down on your lower lip. Looking up at the sky to now seeing the first couple of stars, you let go of your tension and turned around back towards the motel. Gladiolus only looked as you walked past him, not once looking in his direction. Sighing, he began to follow you.
~!~
               Everyone awakened early the next morning to get to the Titan before nightfall. As you stood beside the Regalia, Ardyn smirked at you while tipping his hat. You clenched your teeth as you glared directly at him. This only caused his smirk to grow wider.
               “Care to take another ride, Lady Y/N?” He asked mockingly – already aware of your answer. Still, he had to be an asshole and ask anyway. Before you could leap to say something – or stab him in his throat with your daggers – a gloved hand gently squeezed your shoulder. The tension in your face released as you looked up at Noctis who was glaring the smirking older man down.
               “She’s with my group so therefore she’s riding with us from now on, chancellor,” Noctis said, his hand still resting on your shoulder. Meanwhile, you found yourself staring at the prince as he defended you from Ardyn. You didn’t need his defense, of course, but still, for some strange reason, it made your heart beat intensely in your chest. Once again, you were finding Noctis to be quite attractive. You immediately tried to push those thoughts away, however, and tell yourself how lucky Lunafreya was to have him and how’d happy they’d be together.
           Coming to your senses, you shrugged his hand off. “I can defend myself. Thanks. No, Chancellor Ardyn, I will not be riding with you today. Thanks for the offer.”
           Ardyn let out a low chuckle before shrugging and climbing into his car. “Suit yourself. Let’s get this show on the road, fellas!”
           “Everything in order?” Ignis asked him and the other two boys followed him from paying the motel for the night’s stay.
           “Great. Let’s go so I can get to Lunafreya before that asshole…” You grumbled the last part with only Noctis hearing. Ignoring your comment, he climbed into the car after letting you secure your seat in the middle.
And with that, you guys were off to make a convergence with the Titan. Little did everyone know, that this would be the first of many on the journey to restore light permanently to the world.
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