Noctis walked past the fireplace, beef sandwich in hand as he looked at his watch; almost eleven. They'd be starting soon.
The others watched him as he paced back and forth along a stretch of carpet that was roughly four or so metres long, wondering what he was doing as well as how long he was going to insist on doing it for.
They'd had a bit of a mad scramble to get back to the castle with decent time to spare, having woken up late in Galahd due to the party last night. They'd snatched some toast before leaving their borrowed house, quickly said goodbye to the Elder with a promise to return again soon, then practically ran to where the Regalia was parked for the last leg of the round trip.
They'd made it back to the castle at ten-thirty, then descended upon the kitchens en-masse in order to grab the rest of the breakfast that they'd had to miss. Thankfully, after a vat of coffee and several hot beef sandwiches between them, they started to feel decently awake.
It was then that Helena suddenly remembered that she was raising Lunafreya today, with an official welcoming ceremony to be held in the courtyard for press and public at precisely three, and she flew into a panic as she'd not got her official robes. They were still in her house back in the Diamonds.
She spent a couple of minutes working her way through said panic, then hit on the idea of calling Bahamut to ask his advice after the others had shooed the regular staff out of the area.
She explained the situation, saying that she'd not got enough time to fly to the Diamonds to collect the robes, then travel to Altissia to raise her, let alone getting her to the red carpet for three, and Bahamut sagely listened to her for a few moments before suggesting an alternative method of transport. He offered her to use his teleporting ability, giving her one of his rings that she could borrow just for today, so she then quickly said goodbye to the others and vanished along with Bahamut...
Which then led the others to watching Noctis pace the carpet.
They all exchanged silent looks as Noctis turned, paced back the way he'd just come, then look at his watch yet again. It had only been a minute since he'd last looked at it.
"Dude...what are you doin'?" Prompto asked then.
"Waiting." Was the short reply.
"Waiting for what?"
"Luna."
"But..." Prompto then caught a look from Nyx that strongly suggested to leave it alone. "...oh." He said instead. "Okay."
After another minute, Nyx and Gladiolus left the room to talk in the corridor just outside.
"He's gonna do this the whole time, isn't he?" Gladiolus asked.
"Unless we do somethin'? Looks like it." Nyx replied. "He looks real nervous, and seein' Elle in a panic just before she left won't have helped him, either."
"We can't just let him do this until they get back, though. There's gonna be a fuckin' trench in there before long."
"I know, I'm tryin' to think of somethin'." Nyx rubbed his forehead briefly. "I reckon he's far too aware of time passin' right now. So what we need to do, is distract him from it."
"...distract him."
"Yeah! Like...find somethin' for him to do so that he's too busy to look at that fuckin' watch of his."
"That's a good idea. Like what?"
"...not got that far yet." Nyx added. "If we appear too insensitive and shit, he could turn on us."
"That's why you stopped Prom just now?"
"Yup. Wouldn't have gone down too well. We need to be a little more gentle here, I think, and-"
At that moment, Carbuncle appeared on Nyx's left shoulder, making him jump slightly.
"Careful!" The Divine fox snapped. "I'll fall off."
"Don't appear on my fuckin' shoulder, then!"
"...ooh, someone's moody today."
"You seen Noct?" Gladiolus told him. "That's why."
"Yeah, I've been watching him for the past few minutes. Honestly, he's worse than a woman."
"How about helping us?" Nyx asked.
"Well, luckily for you, that's what I came here to do. The carpet won't thank me as much as you guys will, but oh well."
"Oh- okay, thanks. What are you gonna do?"
"Before I start, have you got anything he could do instead?"
"I was just thinkin' of that."
"Think faster, that area of the dining room's almost threadbare."
"Hey, I know," Gladiolus then suggested, "why don't we borrow him to help move your stuff into my place? Could always do a few chores too, that'll distract him for a good while."
"Chores?" Carbuncle exclaimed. "You want distracted, not about to commit suicide. How about, you also move some of Sis' stuff in there too? Big Sis would totally love you for that."
Gladiolus paused. "But...her stuff's in the Diamonds."
Carbuncle jumped off Nyx at that point, landing lightly on the floor before sitting down to inspect one of his paws. "Daddy isn't the only one who can teleport, y'know." He told them both. "How do you think we get around so fast?"
"...you can do it too?" Nyx looked at him.
"Yay, he's finally awake!"
"Shut the fuck up." He grinned. "So what, you're gonna enable us to do that zapping stuff?"
"...I might." Carbuncle sniffed.
"Aw c'mon, I thought you wanted to save the carpet?"
"Yeah, help us out." Gladiolus added. "You know we like you."
Carbuncle grinned at that- which is to say that he bared his teeth and looked more like he was seething with rage, but the two men assumed that if a fox could grin, it'd look like that.
"I guess I can help you out. I'm bored to be honest, was gonna visit Sis but she's busy right now. I haven't got any rings though, I'd look really stupid with one so I'll have to come with you. That's a good thing, though, or you'd probably get arrested if you tried to get in her house on your own. Plus I know the way."
"Very convincing case you got there." Nyx smiled.
"Let's go and break it to him, then."
They entered the room, and the others all looked at Carbuncle first, then their two friends. Noctis also noticed, stopping his pacing and coming over with a worried expression.
"Is something wrong?" He asked.
The fox tutted. "I don't just appear when stuff is wrong, y'know. Everything's fine, so just relax."
"...oh. Okay." He went back to his pacing.
"So...what are you doing there, exactly?"
"Just waiting."
"You've got a bit under four hours yet, lad. You're not gonna walk up and down there all that time, are you?"
"...got nothin' else to do."
"Really? In that case, you've just been drafted for a vitally-important, top-secret mission that these guys need help with."
"Oh?" Noctis came back over again. "What's up?"
"I'll explain when we get there."
"Hold the fort until we get back, guys." Gladiolus smiled.
"You got it." Prompto saluted. "Good luck."
The three men then vanished along with the Divine, and reappeared in a much-warmer area lined with huge, mansion-type houses that all sported wrought iron gates.
"...where's this?" Noctis was first to ask.
"Wow, this is pretty nice." Nyx smiled as he looked around.
"Never been to the Diamonds before?" Carbuncle asked him.
"Nope, first trip. This would be good for a holiday spot, if-"
"We're in the Diamonds?" Noctis gasped. "Why?"
Carbuncle looked at him. "Oh, didn't I mention it? You're gonna help us move some of Sis' stuff into this guy's house." He nodded at Gladiolus as he spoke. "She doesn't know about it, so it'll be a real nice surprise for her when she gets back."
"I...oh." Noctis paused. "Is there enough time?"
"Should be, hopefully. Might still have to get a wriggle on, even with my extremely prestigious taxi services. Don't worry, though, I know which things are her favourites. That should cut down on some time as well. Are you in?"
"Uhh..." He looked at Gladiolus.
"It'd be a big help if you could give us a hand." He said.
"Yeah." Nyx added. "Should be time to spare as well, if we get stuck into it well enough."
Noctis nodded. "Alright, sign me up. Might as well, now that I'm here and stuff. Which house is hers again?" He turned and looked at some of them while the other two men grinned at each other.
Carbuncle's distracting chatter and imposing of a task- as well as lots of information- had succeeded in breaking the worried, time-driven state that the King had gotten himself into.
Would still involve actual work being done, but meh.
Carbuncle led them to the correct house, the door's lock responding to his whisper of magic, then he instantly ran in and headed for the living room couch, bouncing up and down on it in a manner not unlike a five-year old.
"You gonna help too?" Nyx asked him.
"I am helping." The Divine insisted. "I'm your taxi service. If you grab some of the vases out of here, I can start shipping them over to your own living room along with some other stuff."
"So why are you on the couch?"
"She never lets me sit on it. The hair, you see. But she's not here now and you've already got a couple of couches from what I can tell, so...why not?"
"Living dangerously." Gladiolus smiled.
"You've got it. Don't always get so much fun."
"Okay then," he said to the others, "we'd better get to it. Searchin' this place might take a while."
"Slacker." Nyx accused with a mutter.
"What was that?" Carbuncle said loudly.
"Nothing!" The cheeky man grinned.
"Oh good. For a second there, I thought I could hear voices in my head telling me to leave you all stranded here."
"...which vases did you want?"
"Those blue and white ones." A white paw indicated.
The three men laughed, then decided to get stuck in.
Over the next couple of hours, the three men went to each room in the large house, taking the things that Carbuncle told them about. There were only a few items of actual furniture, including her bed, some of the moveable wardrobes and other storage items. Most of their haul was either stuff from the kitchen and bathroom, or it was ornamental in nature. The Divine described each item meticulously, always leading them to the right one while he remained on the living room couch and treated it outrageously. He bounced along every single centimetre of the three soft seats as well their backs and arms- which he launched himself from to bounce even higher- and he also rolled and rubbed his fur along those same areas.
The three men took a break half-way, borrowing some items from Helena's fridge, and by the time they'd finished putting all of the items through the blazing white portal that Carbuncle kept open for them, the entire couch was saturated with little white hairs.
"Y'know," Gladiolus said as they took another break on the room's still-pristine armchairs, "I still have another free room."
"...you do?" Nyx said. "How big is your house, exactly?"
"Bout the same size as this, more or less."
"It's true." Noctis smiled. "It's the family home that he got from his late father." He then looked at Gladiolus. "...right?"
"Yep, that's right." He nodded.
Nyx whistled. "No wonder it's big. Clarus always did want the best for his family, I remember that much."
"Did you know him well?"
"Quite well, yeah. When he was workin', he was pretty similar to Roc. All business, y'know. Pretty strict. He was damn good at it though, Regis couldn't have had a better Protector."
"He was a little strict at home, too, but only where he needed to be. He was a different person then, always real caring and patient with me and Iris. Kinda needed to be too, heh. We gave him some fairly excitin' moments while growin' up."
"I bet." Nyx grinned.
"Is your dad still around, you think?"
"I dunno. Not even sure if I remember who he was, we all ended up movin' several times when I was still real young due to the wars and shit, and he always went off to fight in 'em. Tried lookin' for him while I was still in the mist, specially after I managed to find my mother and my sister, but...couldn't see him."
"That sounds like a mission to me." Noctis smiled gently.
"Heh. Doubt he'd wanna see me now."
"I'd bet you're wrong. Like I was wrong, remember? You weren't there at the time I had it out with my dad, but...we made it good again. And he told me that they did everything they could to give us a chance. It's been over a year in the making, but we finally paid them back and put things right. He said they were all proud of us, and we weren't the best-behaved kids either. So...if your dad ever found out about you? I think he'd be real proud to see what you've done in his name, like ours were."
That made Nyx quiet and thoughtful, as well as slightly sad, but he then lifted his head up and smiled.
"...said like a King." He replied. "Well, if y'all ever get bored and stuff, I could always use some help trackin' him down."
"You got it." Gladiolus offered instantly.
"Me too." Noctis agreed. "And now that I am a King, I've got far more contacts...allegedly. It's time they earned their keep."
They all smiled at each other, then their minds drifted back onto their previous conversation.
"...so, this room." Nyx then said.
"Yeah?" Gladiolus asked.
"If you already have a spare bedroom, you got any ideas for what to do with this other one?"
"Well, now that we've been round this whole house from top to bottom, I've had an idea for makin' it into some kinda lounge. Or maybe a games room? Already got a miniature Gym."
"Hmm...a lounge, huh? That's not a bad idea. Just like, a space to chill out and stuff? Peace and quiet kinda thing?"
"Yeah, that's it. And, I was thinkin' of putting all of those awesome statues in it. Would look good, I reckon."
They'd stumbled across one for each Divine during their removal process, all sat on white stone plinths and cast in exquisite detail from a metal that shone like silver. None of them knew if they actually were silver or not, but when they also considered the very detailed carvings and set jewels on each one, they definitely knew that they were priceless. The one of Bahamut in particular was very impressive, with each little nuance of his wings and armour accounted for on the three-foot tall replica.
Each of them looked as though they could have easily taken a lifetime to make, and Helena was bound to hold them sacred, so they ended up making it through the portal too, plinths and all.
"I reckon you're right." Noctis said. "Those statues are somethin' else, never seen ones like that before. Takin' those for her seems like the right thing to do, and havin' them all in one place would look better than just dotting 'em around the house, like she ended up doing in this one."
"Yeah." Nyx agreed. "Though...for that to work, we'd need some more furniture as well as a couple more cabinets and stuff. That drinks cabinet in here would work well."
"We'd probly also need these armchairs too, and the-"
They then all looked at Carbuncle.
"...the couch." Noctis finished with a sigh.
"Uh-oh." Gladiolus stared at it; there was now a sizeable amount of white hair all over it that even he could see from where he currently was, and he also saw the slightly-sheepish look on the Divine's face as he stared back at them all.
"Uhh...whoops?" Carbuncle laughed nervously. "So you, uh...you actually need this couch now?"
"We do, yeah." Noctis told him. "I don't suppose you're able to take all that fluff off it, are you?"
"You're joking, right? All this? We'd never make it back in time if we try and get all this off it now. You'll have to take it as it is."
"There's a bit under two hours yet." Nyx protested.
"You've still not arranged all that stuff yet, though. It's all packed into the living room."
"...oh yeah. Shit." He then looked at the others. "That could take a while. Maybe we should just do as he says- take it as it is, then use any free time to de-fluff it later. At least everythin' will be in the right place then."
"That's true." Gladiolus agreed. "Alright then, let's get this stuff shifted so we can start sortin' out my place. I'll get takeout, might not have enough time to cook."
"You said the magic word." Nyx got up from his armchair and strode over to the couch. "C'mon, you furry bastard," he said, "take that ass elsewhere cos' we need that couch."
"...you're not starting with the chairs?" The fox pouted.
"No. Not only is this thing way bigger and we're currently short on space, I don't want you puttin' more fucking fur on it. Now are you gonna move, or do I have to pick you up?"
The other two men were fairly convinced that Nyx was the only person who could get away with talking to a Divine like that.
Carbuncle looked at him haughtily. "I'll move myself, thanks." He replied as he jumped off and onto the floor. "You don't get to order me around, y'know, you're not my dad."
"Your dad's a little busy right now. I'm sure he'd love to know how much of a help you've been, right? Can put in a good word."
Carbuncle narrowed his eyes at him but said nothing, then he moved out of the way as Noctis and Gladiolus approached opposite ends of the hairy couch with wide grins.
After another mad scramble that involved moving all the furniture they'd taken into the right place, they then reappeared back at the castle for quarter-to three, still slightly breathless as they rushed over to Roc and the others in the dining hall.
"So glad you could join us." Roc commented.
"Before you start ridin' that high horse of yours," Nyx told him, "we've been secretly movin' some of Elle's furniture into Gladio's house as a surprise for her. And only just finished, I might add."
"...oh." Roc paused. "Well, that's...that's a really good idea, I'm sure she'd love that. Seems a little too nice for you, though."
"I'm perfectly capable of being nice, thank you!" The young man grinned at him. "You oughta try it sometime."
"Looks like we just made it." Noctis puffed as he gratefully accepted a drink from Ignis.
"Just about, yes." The Chamberlain smiled. "You three look a little worn out, though. Why not sit down for a bit first? There's still fifteen minutes to go."
"Good idea." He threw himself into the nearest seat, with the others following his example shortly afterwards.
"Speakin' of which," Prompto said, "did I hear right? You've moved some of her stuff into your house?"
"Yep." Gladiolus smiled. "All her favourite stuff, anyways. The things she'd have missed the most. We found these statues of the Divines, too, cast out of what looks like silver? Man, you oughta see those fuckers, they're stupendous."
"Well, if there's a housewarmin' party goin' on anytime this time of soon, I'd be happy to take a look."
"I agree." Ignis said. "I'd be interested in taking a look."
"We've not long had a party." Gladiolus chuckled.
"I think it's a great idea." Carbuncle then said from the floor.
Everyone looked down to see the little fox still there, peering back up at them with twitching whiskers.
"You would," Noctis said, "you guys probly can't get wasted."
"Well no, we're rather immune to all that stuff, but it still sounds like a good idea to me. Plus you might all need feeding again once the pomp and ceremony is over and done with. And, let's not forget that I wasn't able to make your bender in Galahd so I'm still owed an invite to something, at least."
"Do you always think of yourself?" Nyx asked.
"No, but...our interests are coinciding quite a lot lately. Besides, you'd all just love to see more of me, right? I mean, I'm the one who Daddy's stapled to your backsides for the next several dozen years, and..." He then fell silent.
"...really?" Nyx smiled. "That's interesting."
"Wha- I mean, y'know, I'll be keeping watch and stuff, I won't actually be around the whole time unless you do some seriously bad things when my back's turned."
"Why you?" Gladiolus asked.
"Daddy seems to think that I get along with you all the best. You sure wouldn't be happy if you ended up with any of the others, right? Can you imagine it if Shiva or Ifrit got the honour instead?"
Nyx shivered. "Ugh, don't remind me. I think Ifrit's still hopin' that Elle will rethink his offer in the near future."
"He's like that, yeah. I think you're safe for the minute though, he's kinda following Shiva around at present."
Nyx laughed. "That'll be exciting."
"For who, exactly?" Ignis asked.
"Both of 'em. But it's like I said a while ago now, opposites do work together if it's done right."
"...I'll still have to take your word for it." Noctis smiled.
At that moment, a guard came bursting into the room breathlessly, causing the tiny Divine to dart behind one of them to avoid being seen.
"Your Majesty," he announced, "they have started the conference and will appear in the courtyard shortly."
Noctis gulped nervously and looked at him. "I'll be right there."
"Yes, sir." The guard then left.
Everyone looked at each other for a moment, and Noctis started to get a fresh bout of nerves.
"I really need to work it so that I don't have to hide anymore," Carbuncle muttered, "this is getting embarrassing now."
"Oh shit," Prompto then gasped, "the Crystal! I've still got it in my pack, they'll need it in a sec." He then took off, running for his room. "I'll be right back!" He yelled frantically.
Everyone was at a loss for what to do next, so Nyx decided to take it upon himself. "Alright bitches," he said sternly, "it's time for Operation Cover-Up."
"...what did you just call me?" Carbuncle asked.
"I've called you worse before now. Gladio? Iggy? You're castle guys so you should probly head out there with Roc to start the official greeting and shit. Give us like, a couple of minutes?"
"You got it." Gladiolus nodded. "C'mon, Roc, we've got a horde of press people to divert."
"...very well." Roc said as they started to leave the room.
"You," Nyx then said, pointing at Carbuncle, "you'll need to hide for a bit while they do that, then Bahamut might think of a way to casually insert you into the ceremony."
"Nobody inserts me anywhere." The Divine huffed. "And what gives you the right to order me about like this?"
"Can you think of a better idea?"
Carbuncle thought about it for a second, then decided to go along with it and promptly vanished, awaiting a better time to reveal himself properly to the general public.
Noctis then looked at Nyx, and saw a smile there.
"Last but not least." That smile became a grin. "We need to get you into your official suit, and while you're doin' that, you'll be listening to me. Y'know, for that man talk."
"...is there enough time for that?" He asked hesitantly as Nyx started to push him towards the dining room door.
"There's gonna be- if- we make a start now. There's not much, really, you'll know most of it anyways. I'll tell Prom to come to us once he's gotten hold of the Crystal, then we can all go out together and put on a nice, big show for your special lady."
"Uhh...okay, if you're sure about this."
"I am. C'mon, let's move it."
Nyx wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but part of him was secretly enjoying this. Didn't happen often. And hopefully, everything else would work out just as well, too. But first, he needed to make sure that this phase went off without a hitch.
At least none of the others needed proper uniform either. Only the King did, and that was his very next step as they ran to Noctis' room and he helped him to dress while dispensing some rather frank advice to the nervous King.
Down in the courtyard, a large halo of associated press had gathered and were already taking statements from the general public as they waited not far away, all breathless with anticipation for the impending ceremony that, despite how short it would be, was the most talked-about event of the year.
Several years, for that matter, a lot of recent events had never before happened in Lucian history, while others only came about once in every generation when new Kings were crowned and new Queens were officially wed.
Roc, Ignis and Gladiolus were also there, each one of them being interviewed for the occasion so as to get their take on this extremely happy event. The doors behind them were still closed, awaiting the King, and the halo had been created to afford enough space for whatever was going to happen, a roughly twenty-foot circle in diameter that nobody but castle staff were permitted to be inside, its edges marked by waiting guards.
Roc was pleased to see that everything was going according to his instructions, having taken it upon himself to plan and prepare the event due to the absence of the King yesterday. He wanted it to be a worthy spectacle, with everything just so, and silently hoped that nothing would come along to ruin it.
"Is it in your pocket?" Nyx asked while they stood in front of the still-closed door.
"Yeah." Noctis puffed.
"Okay, so just relax, alright? Just like I told ya."
"R-right, yeah. Relax." The King took a long, slow breath, letting it out at a much-gentler pace than before.
"Wish I'd have been there for that talk." Prompto said.
"Don't worry," Nyx told him, "you'll get your own one later. Somethin' always keeps comin' up just lately, but it's definitely gonna happen later at the party, alright?"
Prompto started grinning. "...party?"
"Yeah. Still gotta set that up and I'll need your help for that, but as a reward, you'll get the man talk to end all man talks, you got my word on that."
"Cool...okay then, lemme at it!"
"That's the spirit." Nyx smiled.
"You really need to get paid more." Noctis chuckled.
"I guess...but if this turns out the way I hope it will? That'll do for now. You and I can settle the rest when you're not so... occupied with Luna, yes?"
Noctis grinned. "Heh, yeah. Forgot about that. Sure won't now."
"Just try and keep it down a little, yeah? Or, see if anyone knows how to get some soundproofin' done. I know a guy in Galahd if you don't, his rates are pretty good. Might get a discount if I ask him to do Gladio's house, too."
They all smiled, then turned back towards the heavy doors.
A minute later, those doors were opened, exposing the three of them to the eyes of the world. Noctis was furthest forward, Nyx to his traditional right and Prompto to the left, holding the Tenebrae Crystal near his chest with both his hands. After an obligatory pause, Noctis started to pace forward to the foot of the steps and the other two men followed quietly.
Not long after they'd reached those steps, a shimmering disturbance of white light formed in the centre of the empty space in the distance, and Bahamut stepped through first, staying at the rear as Helena then came through by herself.
Nobody had seen her official robes before, but they sure caught sight of them now. The main garment was a full-length, snow white dress, onto which several designs had been embroidered in glistening silver thread, accenting the chest area that it hugged as well as trailing down the rest of the dress itself in ivy curls. The odd tiny jewel also made an appearance, all a rich, royal blue that was the same shade as her eyes when she was using her gifts, and around her shoulders was a royal blue cloak, sporting a slight collar at the neck as well as more silver embroidery on the outside of it. The hood was currently down, folded back neatly to show her smiling face, and the necklace tied in perfectly with the whole ensemble now that they could see the full image of it.
She looked like a Queen herself, and several of her friends mused that maybe, she actually was. Queen of the Divines, in a way, with Bahamut himself standing as their King.
Despite her very panicked and sudden exit, they all saw her to be looking perfectly composed, very happy if slightly tired-looking- and to Gladiolus and Nyx, even more beautiful than they already thought she was. They beamed at her from afar as she moved to the left side of the glowing portal, awaiting the next entrant.
"Isn't that just the best thing we've ever seen?"
Nyx had been too busy staring to notice that Gladiolus had crept over to take his place next to Nyx's left, and he nodded while trying to keep his face looking friendly rather than anything more.
"...yep." He smiled in reply. "Hope she had chance to visit the Magisterium while she was over there as well."
"I bet she did. These Divine taxis are quite handy, after all."
"Might need another one, soon. For transporting all the stuff for the housewarming party?"
Gladiolus grinned slyly. "Oh, we're having one, are we? How come I'm the second-to-last person to know about this?"
"Uh- well, I had to get Noct all ready and stuff first, and-"
Gladiolus' chuckle cut him off. "It's fine, relax bro. I was just windin' you up a little. I think it's a great idea...which might earn us some points back for the current state of her couch."
"You think so?"
"Well...I hope so. I'm sure it'll be fine, once she sees all the effort and stuff we put into this."
"Soon find out, I guess."
The next thing to emerge from the portal wasn't a person...it was a pair of small dogs, one black and one white. They shook themselves and looked each other over as they trotted into the courtyard space, then spotted Noctis and dashed straight towards him, almost knocking the King over.
"Hey!" He laughed. "Easy now, I never forgot you!" He reached down to stroke both of them on the head, scratching slightly behind their ears. "You been good for me, guys?"
"I remember these," Prompto grinned, "they're her dogs, right? They used to send you messages from her."
"That's right." Noctis smiled happily. "This one is Priya..." he said as he tapped on the white dog's head briefly, "...and this one is Umbra. Been with us for a long time now."
"So they're this size? I mean, they're not puppies?"
"Nah, they're a few years old now I think. All grown up."
"About the only ones in our group who have." Ignis smiled. "Not that that's a bad thing, of course. One should always strive to hold onto their youth while they still can."
"I sure intend to."
He then noticed that the area had gone strangely silent, and glanced forwards to see that one last person had come through.
The nerves threatened to come back yet again, but he fought to keep a lid on them as he straightened slowly and looked right into the eyes of Lunafreya, who he'd not seen for more than a year.
It was truly like she'd never left; she still had the same blonde hair, as well as the same white dress that she'd been buried with, a copy of her designer wedding gown that was still on display at the Academy in Altissia. It was quite a simple one, really, despite having been made by Vivienne Westwood herself, but Luna never really needed too much embellishment on anything she wore; she'd always been perfect just as she was, in his eyes.
Actually saying that had always been tough for him to do, she always managed to steal his words away whenever he'd had chance to say them before. The correspondence was much easier only because it wasn't in person- this was, and he tried to remember the advice he'd been given as he started to walk down the short steps with Prompto at his side, as per the plan, slowly heading over and coming to a standstill roughly a metre away.
She was smiling at him, eyes also full of unspoken words, but those would have to wait a little bit longer as there was an official ceremony to do first.
"It's...been a long time." Her light voice said.
"Too long." He instantly replied. He then remembered the ceremony, and gestured towards Prompto and the Crystal. "As promised, we hereby return your sacred Crystal to you that was wrongfully stolen over a year ago, in the hope that it will remain where it truly belongs until the end of days."
He nudged Prompto, and the visibly-nervous blonde stepped forward, holding it out for Luna to accept.
She bowed her head slightly, then reached out to take the item in her own hands. It almost seemed to recognise her somehow, a very faint sound coming from the centre of the Crystal at the instant that her fingers touched it.
"We are beyond grateful to you and your companions." Luna replied to him. "It is also good to know that your own Crystal is also safely back in its homelands, to carry on protecting you as it always has over the years."
It...kind-of was, it was still in a backpack somewhere but Luna didn't exactly need to know that right now. It was still on Lucian soil, though, and that was the most important thing.
"I agree." Noctis said. "Thank you."
An attendant briefly came through the portal to collect the Crystal, Bahamut having changed its other end to Tenebrae within a matter of seconds, and that attendant then went back through again in order to return the item to its original holder.
With that part done, it now fell to Noctis and Luna to welcome each other, after the long time they'd spent apart. It was a little unnerving to have to do it so very publicly, but a part of it could be shown here to satisfy the people and press, at least.
At that point, a small giggle escaped from Luna.
"You look as though you can't believe your eyes." She said.
"...I can't." He smiled. "Never forgot what you looked like, but...you look even more beautiful than I first remember."
Her eyes went very wide, a rare show of emotion from probably the only woman who never feared death, and she giggled again.
"Very bold for you, my King. You've grown in my absence."
Noctis took a step closer. "I meant it as much then as well, but...never got chance to say. Now, I'll not make that same mistake ever again."
A slight flush crept onto her very cool, pale features. "...do you still have the ring?" She then asked, meaning her wedding ring.
"Always." He pulled it out of his pocket and laid it onto the flat palm of his right hand, letting her see it for a couple of seconds, then he put it away again. "But, I couldn't give you it back right now, like this." He then said.
She looked very puzzled, as did Helena.
"...oh. And why is that?" Luna asked nervously.
"We didn't start out...in the best of ways." Noctis admitted. "We were married for the wrong reason, though the feelings were there. I wanna do this the right way, Luna, so I'll give you this ring back...if you'll marry me properly this time."
Everyone's face erupted into a sea of grins, and even Luna had one of her own on her face, stunned by his words.
"Will you still have me?" Noctis then asked her.
She laughed at that, then walked forward to stand right in front of him. "...I guess so." She then laughed again, and flung herself into his arms as the two dogs came bouncing back over and a huge cheer burst out of the other people assembled.
Luna then kissed him, and Noctis appeared startled for a split second before he went with it and kissed her back, forgetting that everyone else was there for a few short moments.
They then turned and started heading toward the castle as the portal behind them vanished, and Bahamut smiled briefly at Helena before he too decided to disappear. She followed behind the couple and with timely order, all the friends went back inside and headed for the dining room along with Priya and Umbra before the doors were finally closed.
After an hour or two of chatting with some drinks, they then all headed to Gladiolus' house and Helena was profoundly shocked when she spied several items that looked very much like hers despite it being the first time that she'd been in his house.
"...those vases look like the ones I've got." She said.
Closely followed by... "...I have a couple of wardrobes like this too, with the marquetry on. And the table? I'm sure I have a table similar to that back at my house."
"Fancy that." Carbuncle said with a straight face. "Oh, by the way, I've been assigned by Daddy to be the official busybody for all you guys. We're real close, apparently, so..."
She beamed at him. "That's awesome, it'll be great to see you around quite a bit more."
"Heh heh...really? I dunno about that."
"Of course it is, I mean, you are the cutest one after all. The others like you too, how is it not a great idea?"
"Uh...you'll see, I guess. I'll be back later, just need to go and help with the Crystal ceremony in Tenebrae." He then vanished suddenly, leaving Helena feeling slightly confused, but she shrugged and then headed back into the living room until it was time to say goodbye to the others a while later.
She hugged them all, thanking them once again for the great party idea and hoping to see them all very soon after she'd caught back up on some rest and relaxation.
She then headed back into the kitchen, where Gladiolus and Nyx were procuring a last beer, Nyx handing her one with a smile.
"Think that was pretty much perfect." He commented.
She smiled too, then. "Definitely. I bet the public loved all that stuff, didn't think Noct would be able to say it."
"Nyx gave him a few pointers." Gladiolus grinned.
"...really?" She turned her head to look at the man in question and he confessed freely, holding his right hand up for a moment.
"Yeah, I gave him the talk." Nyx chuckled. "Hopefully he'll remember the other stuff for later, too."
He winked, and that caused Helena to emit a small laugh.
"I...don't think I'll need to ask what that part's about. But what I will ask about, is why so much stuff here looks a lot like mine?"
"...does it?"
"Well, yeah." She said. "I'd swear that quite a bit of the stuff in this house is very similar to some of the things I've got in mine. I know that's impossible, but..."
He reached for her hand. "Follow me."
Gladiolus naturally tagged along too as Nyx led her to the only room they'd purposely not been in yet, the brand-new lounge, and Helena gasped as she instantly recognised her statues.
"...okay this is like, really weird right now." She turned around to face them both. "What's goin' on here?"
"Guess it's confession time." Gladiolus smiled at her as both men approached. "Y'see, this is your stuff."
"It is? But-"
"We borrowed Carbuncle's amazin' taxi service so that we could go over to your house, and move all your favourite stuff here for you. The stuff you'd have missed?"
"That's right." Nyx grinned. "So, uh...surprise, heh. Those statues are seriously hot, by the way. We really like 'em."
She wordlessly put one arm each around both of them, and the two men smiled at each other before returning the embrace.
"Thank you," she eventually said, "I dunno what to say."
"Just wanted you to feel more at home." Gladiolus replied. "Although...there is one thing we need to tell you, though. Y'see, he looked at your couch, and-"
"What about my couch?" She turned her head to look at it, seeing the plethora of what could only be Carbuncle hair still clinging to its fibres, and she laughed.
"Carbuncle!" She yelled. "Look what you've done to my fucking couch, you little furry bastard!"
"Hopefully we can get it all off." Nyx told her with a grin. "Maybe try some sticky tape or somethin'. Have to say, though, that now he's gonna be hangin' around a lot more, you may find that there'll be hairs on there...pretty often? He's kinda like a cat, I think. You tell him not to do somethin' and well, this shit happens when you're not lookin'."
"Good job you didn't sit down on it yet." Gladiolus added. "I know your robe's the same colour and all, but you might have still ended up sneezing at it."
"I'll kill him." Elaine fumed jokingly. "I don't care how often he's over here, he's still not having my favourite couch."
Nyx then took one side of her face so that she looked at him.
"Forget about that for a second." His voice purred as he glanced down at her clothes. "There's actually a more urgent question that we both needed to ask you, now you're here?"
"...what's that?"
He then smiled. "How do we get these robes off? Can't see any fastenings, even now while we're this close."
"Does it need to come off just yet?"
"I'd say so." Gladiolus' voice sounded equally sultry.
She giggled. "Guys...you do remember last night, right? And how I'm sposed to be taking a break now?"
"There's ways around that." Nyx teased. "So if you'll give us the secret of how this damn thing comes off, we'd be more than happy to spend the rest of today showin' you."
Nyx then kissed her, and she felt the cloak come away as Gladiolus worked out where it connected. He put it on one of the armchairs before coming back over and starting on her neck.
"This is too nice a dress to end up as a belt." He smiled.
She broke free of them both with a laugh, then took their hands and walked with them to the main bedroom because none of them really wanted Carbuncle hair there, either.
"...before you start inserting things," a small voice then said from the foot of the bedroom door they'd get to walk into, "might I remind you that I've not been inserted yet either?"
"I thought you didn't want inserting in the first place?" Nyx said to the Divine. "And that just sounds wrong, you know that?"
"Well...I actually do. So there."
"Just start letting people see you then, it's quite simple, pal. I know old habits die hard, but you should really knock that one on the head now. I'm sure your dad'll be fine with it."
"On your head if he isn't. Both of them."
"Yeah yeah, whatever, do you mind? We've got some business to take care of, so just run along and do...whatever else you Divine guys do in your spare time, yeah?"
"Hmph!" Carbuncle bristled for a few moments. "You and I are going to have words soon, you hear me?"
"Sure thing. Now shift it, fuzzball."
The fox then vanished after giving him one last glare, which was admittedly a joking one, then Nyx opened the door and helped Gladiolus to escort Helena into the room, closing it after them.