#regisson au

After all, it's not like there weren't variously distantly related LCs running around before, and since most of those don't have magic after a generation or two, it's really not a problem. Noctis just assumes that his Dad knows about this thing, either because it came up in the background check or because he was already keeping track of this branch of family. And since Dad didn't say anything to him, it's probably Not That Important and not worth mentioning.

So Noctis just shrugs and focuses on befriending his probable-nth-cousin however-many-times removed.

okay but-

tjis is great and also perfect because phe also honestly thinks they know

phe thinks that the king knows about his dad and just doesn’t care and he genuinely doesn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want his dad but fine sure whatever

and noct takes one look at his new classmate and is like. huh. distant cousin? cool

this would mean absolutely nothing at all except they also click immediately and are the best of mates and phe is just like ‘idk if the king told him but noct defo knows’ and noct is just like ‘hey my new cousins aew so fucking cool take that gladio all your cousins are twats’

and neither of them mention anything. ever

they’re just going about their lives doing their best and sure maybe sometimes during gaming marathons noct will snarl and say phe is the worst cousin ever when he beats him and phe will laugh (cos honestly noct being hsi uncle os so fucking weird but phe knows how to deal with cousins) and that’s it

they never speak aboutnit

until oen day they’re in a room with their dads and obviously something is happening and the whole ‘magic thing’ is revealed and noct just stares at phe like ‘i thought you were a distant cousin wtf’

regis stares. nyx stares

phe frowns. ‘dude i know we both prefer cousin but like. you’re my uncle. you can’t get much more closely related’

Anyway, how much chaos would it cause if Prompto actually used his own magic?

not that much, honestly

like okay, if the general public found out that prompto, as a somewhat distant blood relation, had his own magic there'd definitely be some chaos cos they generally think that magic is half the bloodline and half the blessing of the draconian and so is limited to the mainline of the lc

but actual lucis caelums know that mostly it's the blood and the proxmity to the crystal. if someone distantly related has the right markers in their blood and the dormant magic of the bloodline and spends enough time in the citadel, they can usually do some magic eventually even if not to the same strength of those born with active magic

so it's more the strength of prom's magic that has regis pausing. cos that suggests more than the crystal sparking dormant magic, that says he's inherited it from someone who could use their own. which means prompto's dead parent had magic

which probably means he's more closely related to regis than they'd thought

course it still doesn't change much cos blood tests really aren't that specific so like. they just think he's regis' cousin by a bastard of mors or smth

His best friend isn’t always smiling or anything, but it’s still weird to walk into class and see him scowling down at a sheet of paper. Phe is the most laidback guy Noctis knows - though maybe that isn’t hard, when his competition is Gladio and Iggy who are intense on a good day - and to see him visibly frustrated rather than just shrugging it off because things happen has him pausing for a heartbeat.

Then, because this is his best friend, Noct slips into the seat beside him with a nudge of their shoulders and a: “You alright?”

“I lost my medic alert tag.”

He blinks. “Your what?” He asks stupidly, even though he knows what a medic alert tag is. Why did Phe need a medic alert tag? Why didn’t he know? Fuck he’s a bad friend what if Phe had had an accident or there had been an emergency and-

“It’s my own fault; I probably should have checked the bracelet before I went swimming in that lake with Aunt Lena but I forgot and it broke. Now I have to get a new one.”

“Makes sense,” Noct says slowly, glancing between Phe and the sheet of paper in front of him. “Is the form complicated or something?” His own tags are Citadel issued, after all, and have been for as long as he can remember. He has no idea how other people even get them.

“Nah, the thing I’m allergic to is just- complicated as anything to spell and it doesn’t even look like a real word. look at this thing, Noct!”

A piece of paper is shoved under his nose.

Noct bites back the urge to sneeze, the edge tickling at his skin, and grabs it to pull it away from his face and-

He freezes.

“Are you sure that’s what you’re allergic to?” The words taste like mud on his tongue as he stares at the complicated string of letters printed carefully on the page.

The very familiar string of letters.

Phe rolls his eyes, a grin flashing across his lips. “I know, right! It doesn’t even sound like a real thing, but apparently it’s a sedative of some kind? My dad’s allergic real bad to it so they tested me when I was a baby and ta-da!”

Huh, he thinks.

“Meds always have annoying names like that,” he says, still staring at the string of letters on the page.

If he pulled his own alert tag out from underneath his shirt, he’d see the same word, etched into the metal. It’s not that weird. It can’t be. Loads of people share allergies.

It doesn’t mean anything.

Just- Noct remembers his doctors talking about how rare being allergic to this specific medication is. So rare there’s not even any numbers on it.

He’s never even heard of anyone being allergic to it outside him and his dad, and even with them the doctors don’t think it’s a true allergy. More… their magic reacting badly to it.

“Noct?”

What are the odds of Phe and his father both being allergic to that one specific medication?

“Noct, you alright?”

A hand lands on his arm.

He blinks.

Phe stares at him, a frown on his lips, blue eyes dark with concern and-

Oh.

Phe: . . . I would kill Noct, marry Ignis and fuck Gladio.

Now Phe has to explain his reasoning without explaining he's related to one of those people or getting suspected of treason. He Regrets everything that led to this moment.

"What about you, Phe?"

"Kill Noct," he says instantly, ignoring his best friend's gasp of betrayal. Tilting his head back, he hums, debating... "Fuck Iggy and marry Gladio," Phe decides. Ignis is great and Phe loves his cooking, but really who wouldn't wanna be married to hiding-it-badly romantic Gladiolus Amicitia?

'Sides, Phe's always wanted a little sister and, since Dad isn't getting on with that, Iris is perfect.

"I would marry you," the Crown Prince of Lucis gasps out, his hand pressed to his chest. "And you would kill me? For Gladio?"

"Watch it, Princess. Can't help it if Phe knows I'm the best."

"How dare-"

Phe grins. "I don't know, bro, Gladio has a point," he says, slow and easy, as his best friend works himself up. "He'd get up and do my morning runs with me. Ifrit, he'd probably even buy me flowers."

"I'd buy you flowers," Noct mutters, pouting.

His pout only deepens when Iggy coughs to hide his laugh.

"Seriously though, Phe? Why kill me?"

"You're family, Noct," he shrugs and it isn't a lie. Even if it wasn't truer than his best friend knows, even if Noct wasn't technically his uncle, he'd still love him like the brother he is to him. "I love you, but not like that; I ain't fucking you."

Noct chokes.

"'Sides," he says. "Iggy's hotter than you are."

Huh.

yasssssssss

Like, he knows that magic kills if not trained but still has a fuck-ton of one night stands. And he apparently he didn't use condoms, or keep track of their names or even leave them a number to contact him if something like this happened. And sure, it might be that Regis never thought he would have a bastard, but try telling that to Nyx and his family. Thoughtless mistakes are not exactly an improvement on deliberately endangering someone, when there are lives on the line.

tbf to him he does use condoms but they aren't exactly 100% effective

he also assumes that since his entire family has such problems having kids there's some sort of magic based fertility issues so he genuniely doesn't think about the fact that he might have kids out there which is. not great, but idk i can see his though process

i can also see him assuming that if one of his partner's had a kid they thought was his they'd probably contact him? he doesn't exactly hide that he's the prince and it's pretty obvious where he is and again, assumption is not great but he does have a point

as for the other part, however...

he doesn't not know

the fact is, regis is well aware that magic is dangerous. after all more kings of lucis have been killed by their own magic - mostly through the wall or being massively drained through large spells - then have been killed by war

but also. it's (supposedly) so rare for lucis caelum's to have more than two children

and the royal line is trained since birth to use their magic because magic can respond to strong emotions and toddlers with no training lead to things on fire or broken

it's not really something he'd even think about so he doesn't know

regis is also a smart man who is well studied in magic and has his own son and the family warnings to always start them training as young as possible, get the magic under control, you can use your magic to calm your childs when it goes out of control - he has all of that ringing in his head and he's a smart man and he could probably figure it out

so he doesn't not know

it's just. not really something he considers until the son he didn't know about is in front of him, repeatedly harmed by his own magic, and regis realises that maybe the reason there's no known lucis caelum bastards isn't because of fertility issues or people not wanting to deal with the name but instead...

like you said, thoughtlessness isn't great

so yeah. even the people of galahd who don't particuraly care about nyx care about that fact that regis is either purposefully or thoughtlessly endangering his own people and his people's children

that could be any child from across lucis, could be any child of any of their clans, their own child torn apart from the inside out because the king was a young idiot once but now he refuses to think

and yeah they're angry about it

I've seen the one with a Nif diplomat recognizing them, but that's about the only one I was able to find.

If not, what about a reveal where somebody notices the resemblance between Noctis and Phe, and comments on it? Or if they don't recognize Noctis, they might outright call them brothers/cousins.

Ofc, Noct is all "nope, that's just my best friend, we're really not related". Meanwhile Phe is pointedly avoiding eye-contact and trying to look inconspicuous. (He's Failing)

see so like, it really depends on the verse

cos the majority of the angsty reveals? they're for what was originally the main verse for this au - the one were nyx waits, prompto is moved, and he thinks his son is dead. and like- with that verse? eh

cos prompto doesn't remember, not really, so it's always gonna be vaguely angsty at the very least

however, if you're talking about the verse that I actually wrote for this au - the one were nyx escaped with phe and raises him and everything is Better?

yeah lol i can defo see that

phe is a shit liar. he tries, he does, but mostly his idea of lying is just not talking about a thing. if he doesn't talk about it, he can't slip. so he doesn't mention the magic in his blood, he doesn't mention that the king is technically his grandfather, he doesn't mention how fucking weird it is that his best friend is his uncle, and he definitely doesn't mention how he really doesn't understand how anyone could look at his dad and find him lacking

so when the paparazzi get a photo of noct and phe side by side and someone online makes a comment about the way they share the same nose and jawline and actually their eye colour is pretty damn similar as well-

noct laughs, used to the press and them making random connections

but phe?

phe pales and he stutters and whenever someone asks him about it he avoids eye contact and he just-

it makes noct pause. iggy narrows his eyes. gladio raises an eyebrow

phe would very much like to call his dad now thanks

'we're not related, right, phe?'

'hahahahahah of course not noct how could we be related like how would that even happen you've met my dad-'

everyone freezes

because phe- phe and noct look similar but phe is blond and broad-shouldered and a little bit stocky but nyx?

nyx is dark haired and bright eyed and lean just like noct is. nyx who shares those same features with phe that noct does, who they have met, who they suddenly realise looks very lucis caelum

hmmm honestly i'm thinking it through and like- phe and regis probably don't meet until phe and noct have been friends for years

cos there are like. some significant security issues to the king meeting a random friend of his sons, even when that friend has passed every security check, and also the man is v busy

plus phe really doesn't spend that much time in the citadel. he mostly hangs out with noct at like the arcade and parks and yeah they go to the citadel but they fuck around in training rooms and play video games in noct's bedroom and the moment noct gets his own flat they just. hang there instead

anyway, cos i'm getting distracted, they might not meet in person but they hear a Lot about each other, from noct, and regis also has all the reports as well and well-

phe hears noct talk about his dad and like. how much the king loves him even if he annoys him, how much he tries even when he can't quite manage to always make time for his son, and phe doesn't get it. he really doesn't

nocts dad seems like a good guy. noct loves him

and phe he figures that the king is? and that he must just be like his nobles and really dislike bastard children? he can't think of anything else to explain why his dad is so scared of the man?

regis meanwhile is just like. my son has friends and he's so much happier and everything I've heard says that morpheus ulric is a good kid and his family are some of my best glaives

good for noct

he's just glad his son is happy