#lightnoct

A/N: Hi! Hello! This is a hecka Au just so you know >.< ! Basically no one is dead! Except of course Ravus and Luna’s parents. Tenebrae isn’t taken over by Niflhiem and stands as a neutral country just like Accordo. King Regis’ appearance however, is physically younger due to the fact he didn’t have to keep up the wall around insomnia. :/ Also I apologize if a few words are spelled “weirdly or incorrect”, I speak Eastern Commonwealth English which adds a few extra letters that you probably don’t see on any other works of writing. 

Ratng: T (I’m making individual chapter ratings cause that’s a lot easier for me)

Fandom: Final Fantasy Xiii (Post Lightning Returns), XV crossover

Pairing: NokuRai (Lightning/Noctis)

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Chapter One

Love is a poison with no antidote.

Anyone would’ve laughed at how cliché the situation seemed. The young prince dying in his lover’s arms, speaking his last words. This however wasn’t a movie, it wasn’t a show. No, it was reality. The man she let into her heart was dying in her arms. Rain caused her rose coloured tresses to stick to her ivory skin. The blood of the fallen had stained the marble staircase of the once prestigious Citadel, now just a mess of rubble and debris.

He had promised to be careful. He promised she wouldn’t be alone anymore. He promised her forever. Yet, no matter how many promises he made to mend her heart they mattered not now. If someone were to rip it out from her body and crush it to dust, she wouldn’t feel it. Hell, at this point she wanted someone to. Her chest felt hollow, just like the day her only family had left her.

Forever. What would that mean now? Would she live a forever without him? Or would she die on the battlegrounds with his body in her arms while she withered away in despair?

“Noctis!” Words that came out of her mouth sounded like a whisper to her but to the normal ear sounded like cries of agony and desperation. “You promised me forever! You promised I wouldn’t be alone anymore!” Hot tears fell from her clouded cerulean eyes. “So why. Why did you break our promise…?”

Wise men say only fools fall in love.

If that were true, she was the biggest fool of them all. She was a fool to let him into her heart. A fool to let him love her. But an even bigger fool to love him back. To return his simple acts of affection.

How she regretted it all now.

“You can’t die on me now you son of a bitch! You’re too stubborn to die! You’re… you’re supposed to grow old with me. You’re supposed to ascend the throne with all of us beside you. You’re supposed to love me ‘till death. You said so yourself.” A grief-stricken sob forced its way through her throat. The raw emotion causing it to crack in the slightest.

Grasping his body closer to her, she prayed to The Six, prayed to Etro. Any and every deity to bring him back. No matter the cost. If she needed to sacrifice herself she would. The irrational part of her mind now taking full control of her senses, she let go of a silent sob into the crook of his neck. If any gods had heard her plea, they made no way of showing it besides the bright flash of white and the all-to-familiar feeling of being separated from the land of the living.

When Noctis’ eyes opened they were blinded by the bright lights of the medical wing of the Citadel. The intensity of the lighting caused him to rise out of his half asleep form almost immediately. The corner of his eye caught the familiar glint in his advisor’s glasses.

“Noct, I see you’ve finally awoken.” With that statement Ignis had fully turned to see the young monarch. “I’ve notified the others upon your awakening so they should be here soon.” The guilt weighing on his shoulders at the moemnt had been somewhat lifted seeing his childhood companion wolfing down the meal, but there was still the regret of not being able to see her here with him.

Upon finishing the meal Ignis had prepared, Prompto and Gladiolus all but barreled themselves through the door to see him. “Noct! It’s great to see the sleeping beauty up for once.” Gadio’s chuckle practically boomed throughout the -rather small in Noctis’ opinion- room.

Noctis, in return merely glared at his shield. The man was known for his well thought out jokes, even more so for the ones regarding the crown prince. Gladio returned the glare with a smug smirk of his own. Receiving a sigh from Ignis and a soft chuckle from Prompto.

Although he appreciated the warm welcome back, he couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t with them. “Where’s Light?” The second the question was asked the faces of the three men in the room became solemn. His eyes immediately became glued to the three.

A cold sweat broke from his neck. A million thoughts were swarming his mind. But all those couldn’t prepare him for what Prompto said next.

“She’s dead Noct.”

A/N: So this is my first ever fanfic >.<!!! It’s Lightis (Lightning X Noctis) in case anyone is wondering cause I’m a deadass hoe for lightis amen. Also the title ‘Ars Amandi’ is latin for “The Art of Love” ;)

I was asked, I think, a couple days ago by @pikachugirl1996. I had drafted an idea of what I wanted to write of how Noctis and Lightning met as children. I even referred to the Lightis writer I look up to because I was worried that it’ll be too bland or mirror NoctLuna lol As this was pikachugirl1996′s idea and she requested me to write this, I chose to change the scenario and setting to meet with her expectations. So right now is what I had come up and written in just headcanon mode. Next time there’s a Lightis Childhood AU heading, it’ll be a drabble of what she asked of me. Thank you for letting me upload what I had and I hope to meet your expectations of the idea next time. I am here to practice my writing for my dream job and to work with you, nothing I want in return. It’s pretty much a free style of what I had before change of plans. Perhaps I will return and write out this headcanon into a drabble one day.

Noctis knew the girl that who will grow up to address herself as Lightning, but back then, her real name was Claire. Claire had no knowledge that Noctis had been a prince and it wouldn’t have mattered much back then if she had known. Noctis and Claire played together in the park as children. This had been long before Noctis’ accident when he received his gift from the goddess. He was an precocious child always seeking adventure and would make his way to the park unsupervised. Claire was a temperamental but assertive little girl who watches over Serah; the other kids don’t seem to like Claire as much as they do Serah and that was fine by her so long as they don’t make her little sister cry. Serah’s love and friendship was enough for her. When Noctis and Claire first met, they did not get along right away, she was incorrigible and he was sensitive to that so they kept their distance. A prince and the commoner girl story yet when you expect royalty self-entitlement, it’s actually the girl who was initially rude and bossy. But the prince wanted to win the tenacious girl over. He could not be deterred from not going to the park because of her.

Claire had hidden depths to her despite being overly protective of her sister and she doesn’t refrain from telling people that she didn’t like them. Noctis had a tendency to lose his toys when they are far from his reach, such as a ball stuck in the mud or bouncing away in a pond or a toy plane had been stuck in the tree. He doesn’t do it on purpose, he’s rather clumsy. Claire surprised the young boy by going as far to retrieve them by herself, feeling sorry for him and deciding that if Serah had been sobbing as hard as he did, she would have done the same for her. Claire wore pretty sundresses and they would always get filthy in helping the prince. Noctis was awestruck when her knees and arms get scrapped and she doesn’t so much shed a tear over it when she hands his toys to him. He would fish out some bandages out of his pocket and apply them to her cuts. Claire would keep those bandages on as badges of honor. She has fallen in the pond butt first because her feet were trapped in the mud and Noctis tried to cheer her up by retrieving the frog that hopped on her head and showing it to her. She giggled for the first time Noctis had seen her; she laughed at her reflection in the water and had the audacity to splash Noctis until the both of them were fully drenched. Claire and Serah’s mother arrive and was appalled at the sight and scolded Claire for getting another dress dirty, but offers towels to the two of them and chides that they don’t get a cold. Noctis and Claire became friends ever since and they nearly saw each other everyday, even Serah, Ignis, Gladiolus, Luna, Prompto tagged along every now and then. But it had always been these two fire-forged friends and their adventures and their imaginations expanded beyond the park.

One day, Claire was waiting for Noctis and she wasn’t in the mood to play as usual. She announces to Noctis that she and Serah will be moving far away from the area. Their mother had passed away and as the two Farron sisters weren’t of age to live on their own, they would be living with friends of the family until they were situated in a permanent residence. Noctis was pretty bummed out to hear that, but he suggested to spend the time they have together now as though it were the last day on Eos. He then removes his pendant and puts it on Claire’s neck as a parting gift. He plants a kiss on her cheek and dashes away before Claire could react. He shouts and waves at her excitedly that they will see each other again one day. Claire has kept the pendant since then.

Especially pink-haired boys.