WAR / BORN .

         “A-alright, I’ll try”, he said, letting out a chuckle as a slight heat rose to his cheeks at the mention of him being pretty. “Costumes, huh? Let’s hope they’re not making us look ridiculous.” After all, Lightning was supposed to play the savior ( oh, the irony ), wasn’t she? Noctis wouldn’t be surprised if they’d put her in some pompous over the top outfit that would be horribly inconvenient in battle — which made him wonder if they’d have the chance to slip back into their current clothes or if they’re gonna have to crash the palace all dressed up.

     When the time came for them to get ready, Noctis was already nervous. He’d never been in a play before, never performed in front of an audience before — he had no idea what to do at all, and if it wasn’t for Lightning he wouldn’t even be doing this. But here he was, in his very own dressing room ( which actually seemed to be a storage room for props ), surprised at the fact that it was a plain black suit and some shoulder armor that he was supposed to wear, which was thankfully far from the crazy outfits he was picturing inside his head when he first heard about the whole idea. He eyed it for a moment before he began to undress himself as necessary to put it on.

     After Noctis had finished putting everything on, including the armor, he looked around the prop boxes to try and see if there was anything he could decorate his sword with, to make it look less real and more like a theater prop, to keep up the whole disguise. Through all the noise he made by going through those boxes, he didn’t even hear the knock on the door until his own name echoed in his ears, causing him to turn his head in the door’s direction.

         “Yeah?”, he called, leaving the prop he held in his hand in the box to approach the door, opening it quickly. His eyes fell on Lightning, who stood before him in quite the fancy, almost classy looking dress. Lips parted at the rare sight, she looked stunning despite it not quite fitting her personality. “Uh, so, come in?”, he finally said after just standing there gazing at her for what felt a few second too long. After closing the door behind her he went ahead, out to the balcony, giving an overview of the whole plaza.

          “Look, they’re almost done setting everything up. I, uh… can’t help but feel… y’know, with all those people watching. But I also know I’m not alone. I’ll give it my best shot to match with what you’re doing. Who knows, maybe it’ll be over faster than we think.” A slight, nervous smile crept up on his lips as he returned his eyes to Lightning after looking down at the last few preparations the staff was making. It was… strange. The way she made him feel inside despite everything that’s changed about her, or should he say, was missing about her? Though, after the time they’ve spent together in Yusnaan until now… she was already different from the Lightning he met in Luxerion. Still not entirely the Lightning he grew to love but… warmer. And it seemed with each passing moment, she was returning to herself more and more. So it was only a matter of time, wasn’t it? That and being around her, reminding her of the past memories they’ve shared. it made him determined to stick with her no matter what, no matter where she’d go next after they got to Snow.

     He wanted to tell her, let her know that from what he had observed, she had already changed, regained some of her old self, but he wasn’t sure how to word it. His gaze drifted away from her, his features growing thoughtful as he was reaching for words inside his mind. But it was something in one of the prop boxes stacked near the balcony, right behind Lightning’s form, that suddenly caught his eye. Something that shone in the faint light coming in. Hesitant, he reached out, taking it from the box and into his hands, eyeing it for a moment until he gently placed it on Lightning’s head, a tiara befitting a queen — the queen of his heart.

following him inside & to the balcony to gaze over at their stage , lightning glanced back over to him once he began to talk .  ❛ just keep your eyes on me if it’s too much . ❜ light smile upon her lips to reassure him , before she focused once more upon the preparations the staff was making .

noctis’ action wasn’t one she expected , at all . brows rose lightly , savior turning around to face the male .  ❛ what is this for ? ❜ she asks , eyes lingering on his . it’s for a moment she feels her heart beat faster — she’s not too sure why . but it causes her to take in his costume , finding him rather handsome in a suit . why does she think so ? why does she feel this way ?

it prompts her to slowly raise a hand , almost hesitantly , to softly cup his cheek . a familiar feeling , nostalgic even .  her thumb lightly brushes over his stubble — a new sensation , something that doesn’t fit with the nostalgic feeling . yet at the same time her heart seems to beat faster , it hurts . she isn’t certain why ; her past , normal self would describe it as guilt . 

lips part to say something — but she diverts her gaze , away from the man she knew she loved back then . she focuses back onto the stage outside , hand slowly dropping from his visage .  ❛ looks like it’s time . ❜ she merely says before she moves away from him , outside of his room ; waiting for him to join her . with a small halt at her own room to pick up her sword ( with a terrible attempt at decorating it ) , the couple slowly makes their way outside — going backstage to wait until their cue to perform was given .

❛ you don’t have to do this if you’d rather not . ❜ she reassures him as music starts to play — meaning the dancers on the ground started their part & that their turn would be in less than two minutes , giving them more than enough time to take place on the platform .

just like the director of the show had told her , once it was her turn , lightning had a dialogue as the savior with god ; memorized sentences leaving her lips . it’s only when sword was alight & she lit the candles , does she turn towards noctis ; hand extending , inviting him to a dance a their platform started to rise , slowly , towards the next one .

it’s when he takes her hand she slowly pulls him closer , allowing the two to dance together . their first time dancing , wasn’t it ? movements were on the rhythmn of the music ; letting him spin her around , simply moving on the music — with the usual extra movements for the show . it’s only when they’re nearing the end that a smirk curls upon her lips , a soft  ❛ trust me . ❜ leaving her lips ; letting noctis dip before pulling him back against her .

in that moment , something seems to change inside of her . they were closer ( physically , atleast ) than they had been before . eyes seemed glued to his , fingers lightly gripping into the fabric of his suit . for a moment , she forgets what they were doing & where they were ; hands reaching up to tenderly cup his cheeks .  ❛ noctis . ❜ she whispers , as if it had been ages since she last said his name — since she had last loved him . it’s almost as if in that moment , she remembers her love & adoration for the man in front of her .