Chapter Text
The soft caresses of the moon’s light, streaming in through the frosty panes of the bedroom window, roused Noctis from his restless slumber.
The unfamiliar, dusty room and the scratchy sheets that clung stubbornly to his upper body only worsened the sense of discomfort that assailed him upon waking. However, Noctis’ fear was quietly quelled with the sound of Gladio’s low snoring across the room and the realization that his painful discomfort was not from his old injury, but from the weight of Prompto sprawled across his legs.
They were at Cape Caem; he was safe;.
Pushing a few unruly strands of hair away from his eyes, Noctis slipped his legs gently out from beneath Prompto's body and sat on the edge of the bed. He waited, for a moment, then slowly rose. His legs throb dully with each step, demanding he return to bed, but Noctis ignored it; instead, moving stiffly towards the bedroom door. As he shoved his muddy boots on, he glanced back at Gladio, Ignis and Prompto. All three were lost to the sweet oblivion of undisturbed sleep.
Sighing, Noctis turned and left, shutting the door quietly behind him.
The run-down house was eerily quiet, but the moon’s ethereal radiance illuminated every corner of that the quiet interior, shining in through the small windows above the door. It sprayed across the kitchen table, casting playful shadows with Talcott’s growing collection of cactuar figures that Noctis smiled weakly at as he swung the front door open and stepped outside.
As Noctis wandered down the hill and to the gleaming sheen of the Regalia, the waves of the ocean, crashing against the rocks far below, faded away. The air was cool, almost bitterly so against his flushed skin; yet, the crisp sea breeze was a blissfully welcomed respite from the lingering heat within the house.
Noctis yawed, stretching his arms above his head, and glanced up at the distant light of the moon as he leaned against the car’s hood. The moon’s light, shimmering across the expanse of the night sky beckoned him to cross the mighty sea.
He was nearly four months late, but tomorrow he would finally sail to Altissia; to the place he was supposed to have been wed; to Luna.
Their meeting had been a long time coming, but that didn’t lessen the guilt and uncertainty that filled him each and every time he thought of her.
Was she okay?
Was she safe?
If only he could speak to her — hear her voice again — to make sure she was unharmed and that she hadn’t been forced into an engagement with him, only then would he truly be at ease.
Almost there, Luna. I promise.
Nodding to himself, Noctis pushed away from the Regalia’s hood and headed back towards the house, and to his sleeping friends.
And yet, Noctis’ resolve vanished when the accompanying light of the moon was suddenly extinguished behind the gathering dark clouds above, leaving him to walk in the darkness alone.