BROTHERHOOD

Chapter I: City of the Night

Usually he enjoyed sleeping in or taking naps, but for some reason, on this night, Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum could not sleep. His father, the king, was up working late again but at least had managed to take the time to read a bedtime story and say goodnight to his son.

That should have been enough to appease the young prince and send him right to sleep. But now he was unable to do so. He still felt rather energetic, and despite wanting to fall asleep, his body and mind wanted to play. However, even he knew better than to just sneak around at this hour and he wished to avoid being grounded.

Noctis continued to toss and turn in bed until he could take it no longer. He threw his covers off and began pacing in his bedroom, then moved over to his window to take in the lights that still shone bright despite the hour. Insomnia definitely lived up to its name; even when many people were in bed, there were also people who were still out and about and would only go to bed once the sun was in the sky.

Before the little prince could decide whether he should sneak out or not, there was a light knock on his door. Noctis tensed but slowly approached the door and opened it slightly. To his surprise, bright blue eyes stared back at him.

"Lightning? What's up?" He asked as he opened the door widely and let his friend in.

Lightning was a young girl around the prince's age but a year older; she had rose-colored hair, a very unique color that certainly stood out among the usual dark-haired or blonde Lucians.

"Can't sleep," She admitted after a while and sat on the prince's bed.

Noctis joined her and sat beside her. "Me neither. I dunno why… My dad came and told me a story, but I still can't sleep."

"But you always fall asleep when King Regis reads to you." Lightning said, looking quite surprised.

The prince shook his head sadly and his friend stared at her hands for a moment before she suddenly hopped off the bed. Noctis watched as she moved over to look out his window, then turned back to him and grabbed his hand.

"Lightning…?" He questioned.

"Let's go." She whispered.

Noctis tilted his head curiously. "Go where?"

"Go exploring for a bit, until we get tired enough to go back to sleep! We don't really feel tired yet anyway!" Lightning pulled him off the bed and headed for the door.

The young prince looked down the halls, making sure it was empty. "We might get caught though. My dad will have Crownsguard all over the entrances."

Lightning gave him a look. "I got in here. That means none of them saw me."

"How did you do that?" Noctis asked, when he realized she had been right about that.

The young orphan tilted her head. "I can show you, if you come with me."

Noctis looked back at into his bedroom then back at Lightning before a smile appeared on his face and he took his friend's hand and Lightning led him down the empty palace halls where they soon found the first guard standing at his post.

Lightning put a finger to her lips and nodded over to the Crownsguard member standing there. Noctis looked at her curiously, waiting for his friend's next move.

After a moment, Lightning grabbed the prince's hand and led him in another direction, taking a different route around the guard standing there. The prince was slightly tensed but at the same time he was feeling a strange sense of a rush as he snuck around to escape the palace with his friend.

It always surprised him how Lightning seemed to easily sneak in and out of the palace as she pleased, even right underneath the Crownsguard's noses. Even if they did catch her wandering in or out, they never realize it until it was too late. It amused even King Regis himself.

"Where do we go if we do get out?" They young prince asked as he and his companion snuck past another guard.

"We can play in that spot you always go to." She suggested and Noctis grinned at the idea.

The two still remembered the time Gladiolus' little sister, Iris, stumbled upon their little secret playground and had gotten lost due to following a cat all the way out of the palace. Ever since then, the little Amicitia seemed to have gotten rather attached to the prince, sometimes even clinging to Lightning as well.

"Hey Lightning?" Noctis asked as they both made their way through the little nooks and crannies that led to the secret spot.

She glanced back at him. "Yeah?"

"When you grow older, what will you do?" Noctis stopped walking, his hand still holding onto Lightning's.

Taken aback by his sudden serious tone, Lightning looked at her friend carefully. "I think when I grow older… I want to become a Kingsglaive."

Noctis' eyes widened. "But those are my dad's best people! No one can be a Kingsglaive easily because dad says they are the strongest and can use magic!"

Lightning simply nodded. "I know. And I am going to work hard to get into the Glaives! I'll be able to grow stronger and no one will ever pity me again, and I can…"

When she trailed off, Noctis moved closer to her, tilting his head slightly and giving his friend a concerned look. "Light?" He touched her shoulder gently and, to his surprise, she gave him a serious look in return.

"When I become a Kingsglaive, I can be strong, nobody will pity me and…I'll be able to protect you." Lightning said with conviction this time. She straightened, like a soldier at attention.

Noctis stared at his friend for a long moment, taking in her words and slowly realizing that she was not making this up. She was very much serious and had every intention of going through with this plan of hers for the future. Although he was still very young, he understood what the Kingsglaive had to go through with training, and his father and allowed him to take a peek at the Glaives during training and he could see that they were very intense as they entailed more than mere physical skill, but talent with magic as well.

Would Lightning really be able to go through with all that? He knew her well enough to know she was very determined and stubborn but the little prince did not want his friend to get hurt in her pursuit of something. But then he thought back to her words. She said she would also protect him. It made his cheeks a little pink.

"You know… I can protect you too, Light." The young prince said, taking hold of his friend's hands in his.

Lightning shook her head. "I'm going to be the one to protect you! I will be a strong Glaive and…no one will be able to hurt you."

"How come you wanna protect me so much?" Noctis asked softly. He felt oddly warm inside at hearing Lightning's words.

She lowered her head slightly. "Because I like you; you're my friend. And I don't want to lose people important to me ever again." Her shoulders shook a bit and she began to glare at the ground, not wanting the prince to see her getting all soft and emotional.

Noctis caught off guard when he suddenly hugged her tight. "Well, I wanna protect you too because I don't like it when you get hurt or feel sad. So…I will protect you too!"

Lightning pulled back from the hug slightly to give the young prince a look. "You're too lazy to do anything. You take naps all the time."

Despite the words, Noctis laughed and hugged her again. "And you're always so grumpy! Guess we'll protect each other, then!"

With a sigh, Lightning just pushed him back. "You're so weird sometimes, Noct!"

"But you still like me, right? 'Cause I still like you as you are." The young prince admitted.

"… Yeah. I still like you, Noct. But I mean it; I will become a Kingsglaive one day." Lightning ruffled her friend's hair playfully.

The two children then found themselves lying back and staring up at the stars. They spoke of different things; from the mundane to the topics they were most curious about. Noctis always felt so relaxed around Lightning. He didn't feel like a prince with many expectations laid on him. He felt like an ordinary boy who lived a normal life, and Lightning was always there to bring him back up whenever he was down.

Noctis reached over and placed his hand over Lightning's and the rose-haired girl glanced over at him, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she returned her gaze to the night sky. She had come to care for the little prince after his persistent attempts to make contact with her despite her skittishness around strangers.

Ever since he somehow wiggled his way into her sad little life, she had been determined to stand watch over him, to make him smile like he always made her smile every time she was sad or even angry. Hearing him say he wanted to protect her made her want to do the same for him, and more. She knew that the Kingsglaive were the elite forces of the king but she was not going to let their intense training scare her away. She had a mission and she was going to finish it.

After a while, Noctis fell asleep and his head ended up on Lightning's shoulder.

She glanced at him and blushed. However she did not have the heart to wake him up. Instead she shifted a bit, trying to find a better and more comfortable position. In the end, she had her arm around the prince's shoulders and hugged him close as he continued to sleep throughout the night.

Neither prince nor future Glaive cared that they would awaken outside of the palace and may have the chance of being scolded by the adults for sneaking out at night like they did. What mattered was that they enjoyed their little evening excursion and were looking forward to doing it all over again if it meant spending time together.

I felt like doing a more slice-of-life sort of story for XV (with Lightning as part of the bros) where there won't be any worries or pressures or death, or unnecessary factors. Sometimes we all need a break from drama.

But for those of you worried, Sanctuaire is still alive and is not being given up on.

Road trips and journeys to other places can still happen and perhaps some quests, to keep things exciting; after all it seems to be quite normal for quests to happen in the world of Final Fantasy. But for the most part it's the gang enjoying life and living it to the fullest and going on fun adventures. Basically its XV mixed with XIII if it was merely about having fun and traveling everywhere!

Hope you will all look forward to it.

Until then…