And here… we… gooooooo…

Insomnia was a beautiful city, of that there was no doubt, but the fresh sea air of Gladin Quay was a vast improvement that Ignis could feel with every breath. The sound of the waves was even peaceful, despite his past troubles with water. He had no problems as he carried two cups of decaffeinated tea down the lengthy bridge that connected the Mother of Pearl to the beach.

It had been some while since the sun had sunk below the horizon, yet Noct had not returned from the nearby fishing spot. Not that Ignis had expected him to. Noct could lose himself for hours once he had a rod in his hand, plus there was no real hurry. Dino had said their boat wouldn't arrive until morning.

The morning… when they'd be setting out to the city where Noct would be wed to Lunafreya. So strange to entertain that thought. Ignis had always hoped Noct would be able to reunite with Lady Lunafreya, but he certainly hadn't expected it to be like this.

Ignis approached the dock Noct was sitting on and stomped his foot lightly on the wood, letting Noct know he was there on the chance that he hadn't heard him approaching. It had become second nature to send the Prince signals like that in the last few years. Learning to deal with being nearly deaf in his right ear had been a challenge for Noct, but he'd struggled through it, and Ignis had struggled with him. In turn, Noct had helped him smooth out his own issues.

They were much closer than they had been prior to the events of their mutual time being kidnapped.

Noct glanced over his shoulder at him. "Hey."

"Good evening," Ignis returned, offering him his mug of tea. "I thought you might want something to combat the chill of the nighttime seaside winds."

"Yeah, thanks." Noct accepted the mug, then gestured to the water. "Check it out."

Ignis adjusted his spectacles, squinting into the rippling water, where there was a surprising amount of light. The lights moved, and Ignis realized their sources were the fish themselves. "Those are remarkable…"

"Right?" Noct scooted to one side. "You gonna stand there all night, or what?"

Ignis chuckled. "I don't want to intrude."

"Nah, it's cool. C'mon."

And so Ignis sat.

Noct was quiet for a bit after that, not even really paying attention to his rod so much as watching the fish. His tea remained untouched.

"…A gil for your thoughts?" Ignis prodded gently. Clearly, Noct had a lot on his mind.

A smile tugged at Noct's lips before quickly vanishing. "It's just… stuff."

Ignis arched an eyebrow, waiting patiently as he took a sip of his tea and signed stuff? with his free hand.

It had become somewhat of a habit for the two of them to slip into signing at times – Ignis for convenience if he was on the phone or preoccupied by an Ebony, and Noct to irritate Gladio since he couldn't understand. Ignis had one particularly fond memory where Noct had started signing him the weather report that was on the TV at the moment while he smirked at Gladio's increasing frustration. The Shield had been convinced that Noct was signing something particularly amusing about him, especially after Ignis lost his battle against laughing himself.

Noctis sighed, shoulders slumping. "I just… this whole wedding thing."

"You are not excited at the prospect of marrying Lady Lunafreya?" Ignis questioned. He'd been wondering about Noct's true feelings on the matter.

"Well… no? But yes?" Noct shook his head. "I mean… I don't wanna not marry her, but… Astrals, Iggy, it's been twelve years since I've seen her, and suddenly we're getting married because the Empire says so?"

Ignis nodded. He'd suspected as much. "That's perfectly understandable. And I'm certain Lady Lunafreya has similar concerns. Why not speak to her about it in her next letter?"

"No!" Noct rounded on him with wide eyes. "No… I don't want her to think… I am excited to see her, I don't want to make it seem like I'm not by bringing that up."

"Ah. Well, then, perhaps it's best you consult with her in person after the initial reunion has taken place?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Noctis was still glumly scowling. He glanced at Ignis again, expression flickering over to exasperated in an instant. "Wait, what are you doing down here with me, anyway?"

Ignis sipped his tea, raising both his eyebrows this time. "Is there somewhere else in particular that I should be?"

"Well…" Noct looked at the restaurant, then back. "Yeah! You should be back there talking with…" He trailed off with a sigh. "Never mind…"

"Noct…" Ignis had gotten quite good at honing his tell me tone over the last few years.

Noct shrugged. "You seemed like you were having a good time talking to that waitress earlier, and she seemed like she was kind of enjoying it too."

Ignis blinked. "You're referring to Coctura?"

"Um, yeah." Noct smirked faintly. "I've kind of learned to pay more attention to body language."

While Ignis knew Noct had indeed learned to rely on his other senses to compensate for not being able to pick up on others' tones at time, the Prince had most definitely interpreted things wrong in this case. "Noct, I can assure you Coctura is not interested in me, and that feeling is mutual. She seems like a lovely young woman, but I do not see her in any type of romantic way." Not… exactly his type. Perhaps she would have been, were it not for… certain encounters. Plus, he was fairly certain she had her eye on that reporter, Dino.

Noctis sighed again, louder this time.

Ignis nearly rolled his eyes. "Prompto and Gladio are single as well, and yet I don't see you razzing them with even half of this intensity. Why are you so interested in my dating life?"

"You mean lack thereof?" Noct flicked his wrist, making his fishing pole disappear. "Because I seem to recall a certain deal we formed years ago about you having a life outside of me?"

"I have a life, and it is one I am perfectly content with." Content. That was all he could be in terms of certain relationships. Some stars weren't meant to align.

"Content?"

"Happy," Ignis amended. "I have no qualms, particularly in the last few years. You know this – I've enjoyed every moment of our time spent on games and TV shows."

"I know you have," Noct muttered.

Ignis tilted his head. "Why am I getting the feeling this is about more than you're saying, yet again?"

Noct stared into the water again. "I'm getting married, Specs. Things… aren't exactly gonna be the same. I don't… I don't want you to go back to being a workaholic and not having any fun."

Ignis smiled faintly and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm touched by your concern, Noct, but you needn't worry about me. I'm sure we'll manage to slip in a few time-wasting days here and there still."

"Hey!" Noct frowned. "What do you mean time-wasting?"

Ignis sent him a slight smile, retracting his hand. "A jest, Noct. Truly. I don't need a spur-of-the-moment relationship to keep me happy."

"Fine." Noct crossed his arms. "But it would hardly be a sudden thing. I'd say you're due, considering the last time you had a girlfriend was… man, have you ever?"

Ignis hesitated. He still truly hated discussing his personal matters like this, but it was Noct asking. They didn't keep many secrets from each other, though Ignis had kept this one for years simply because the matter had never come up. And… frankly, it was embarrassing. "Noct, I…"

"…What?" Noct was observing him curiously now, no doubt reading his discomfort. Discomfort was a rarity between them, at this point. Helping one another through panic attacks tended to have that effect on more meager discussions – they seemed so trivial in comparison.

Ignis berated himself mentally. This was petty. He needed to spit it out. "My heart is already taken. It has been for some while." He nearly reached into his pocket to touch his phone. Even without looking at the timestamp on her last message, Ignis knew it had been one week and three days since her last text. Nothing to be concerned about. She'd warned him she'd be out of contact on a job for a while.

"Wait, what?" Noct sat up straighter. "By who?"

"Whom."

Noct rolled his eyes. "Whatever! You can't just stop there! Who is she? Have I met her?"

Ignis willed the redness of his cheeks to vanish. "You have… around three years ago."

He saw the wheels turn in Noct's head as he figured it out.

"Wait… Aranea?"

Ignis nodded softly. "She and I have kept up a correspondence over the years. One… I did not expect to provoke such a great amount of affection within me."

Noct snorted. "That's generally how it goes in the movies. So, are you two, like, official?"

Ignis barked out a laugh. "Heavens, no. I haven't the faintest idea if she sees me in the same way. And even if she did, it couldn't possibly work out. That, I accepted a long time ago."

"Says who?"

Ignis gave him a look. "Says our vastly different lifestyles, Noct. I am Advisor to the future King of Lucis, and she's a mercenary. Those are not compatible occupations."

"Dunno about that, Iggy." Noct smirked. "I've seen her fight. She wouldn't be a bad addition to the Glaive."

Ignis chuckled. "I appreciate the effort, Noct, but please do not try to give me hope where there is none. I know our paths are not going to align in that way, and it is something I must deal with in my own time."

"…Okay, but, like, the offer to her is still open for any time. Just for the record."

"I'll be certain to let her know." Ignis took another sip of his tea.

Aranea. A Glaive or Crownsguard. Ridiculous. She was far too much of a free spirit for that.

This one trip aside, his life was entirely too boring for her. That kidnapping was the only thing she'd consider to be eventful that had happened in Insomnia his entire life.

"Libertus? Come on, Lib! Come on! Stay with me!"

Nyx's insides churned, nausea held at bay by will alone as he pressed his joined hands down in a steady rhythm.

Nothing. No breath of life. No thrum of a pulse.

His best friend's eyes remained glassy, staring blankly into the sky.

"Dammit, Libertus!"

The idiot had to go and inadvertently get himself mixed up with the Niffs. He had to try and fix his mess by coming to Nyx's aid. He had to repay all those times he'd owed Nyx by taking that damn bullet that escaped Imperial had fired at him.

"Captain…" Pelna's voice was soft, like if he spoke louder he might spook Nyx, or bring the whole of Niflheim down on them.

Nyx ignored him, his rhythm not faltering.

"Captain…" Pelna's voice rose just a bit.

Captain. The title was a bitter punch in the gut. Some Captain he was. Crowe was dead, shot down by Tredd himself. The King was dead, impaled by the sleazy oh-so-charming Chancellor. The Glaive – his Glaive – had turned on them. Insomnia had fallen thanks to Tredd and his traitorous goons.

No. Not Libertus too. Please.

"Captain…"

Six, please. Just give him this…

"Nyx!" Pelna grabbed his shoulder, yanking him around to face him. "He's gone…"

Nyx's breath hitched as he brought his hand up to press his fist against his mouth. "I know. I know…"

The soft click of heels echoed on the pavement as the Oracle approached them with empathy written on her face. "There was nothing you could have done."

Nyx didn't say anything. He gently pulled away from Pelna's grip, his hand hovering for a moment before he gently closed Libertus' eyes.

He only allowed himself a moment more before he rose back to his feet. He almost wished Lunafreya hadn't tricked Tredd into getting himself killed with the Ring of the Lucii so he could kill the bastard himself, but he'd have to make do with knowing the man had burned.

"Let's go." Nyx's voice sounded hollow and rough to his own ears, but the other two didn't argue.

The trio headed for the edge of the city, trying not to look back at the destruction of the once beautiful city behind them.

Are you ready?