(no subject)

[adelphoi]

[ being in insomnia again is.. strange. the city is the same as she had remembered, and yet so different, so strange after so many long years in tenebrae. this city seems so enormous and sprawling, sharp and stark in comparison, bright and chrome and full of people. though she remembers her time here, her earliest years, she was still quite young when her parents swept she and her brother back to the motherland, and those tender years of growth had been spent in a city very different, a home that she had grown used to, settled into.

and now they are here again, political tensions spurring her father to emigrate here, to lucis again. the empire has been still and quiet, and there have even been talks of treatise, but alisaie trusts her father's judgment, for all his political involvement. more than national pride, he hopes for his family to be safe and secure, and short of living in the bush, insomnia had seemed to him the ideal location. with the wall so strong, such a city must be impenetrable, yes?

alisaie does not know the details of it all, her father would disclose only so much - she and her brother were to focus solely on their studies, bettering themselves, and not to worry about such things outside of their control. lucis might not be a large nation, but insomnia is safe, and secure. it suits their needs just fine.

still, settling in, for alisaie, is not necessarily easy. unlike the rest of her family, smooth-talkers with political savvy, she has a hard enough time simply getting along with her own peers. her friends in tenebrae had been few and distant, their relationships thin and civil but little more. to have to start over again is.. a nightmare. but she is not here to make friends, she is here to finish her schooling, to graduate and prepare for university and beyond. there's nothing to be afraid of.

yet her knuckles are white around the books clutched to her chest as she climbs the stairs that first day, eyes forward, chin high, and it takes less than a week's time for her to earn a reputation as a haughty, conceited little snob, the little rich girl sort who is far too good to waste her time with those she deems beneath her - everyone, apparently. this is not entirely the case of course, but it suits alisaie's needs just fine. let them think what they want, so long as it affords her a wide berth and quiet time to herself, without the terrifying distraction of working her way into, and maintaining her place within, a social circle.

the weekend seems to take an eon to arrive, but friday is here at last. alisaie sits outside at a table on campus, alone, peeling the crusts distractedly from her sandwich, her advanced chemistry textbook open in front of her. three afternoon classes, and this horrible week will be over.. ]

Comments

[punshots]

[ He knew, of course, the moment she was back.

Well, okay, perhaps not the moment, but when rumors started to circulate about new students from Tenebrae, Elezen twins, no less, it had been all but impossible but to stop his thoughts from racing. What would the odds of that be? There are probably plenty of Elezen twins that could have just happened to move to Insomnia and just happened to attend the same public school he did. Surely, fate is not so on the nose. The Leveilleurs moved away years ago, and Prompto had no reason to suspect they might return. All he has of the girl next door is his memories of her, her fierce kindness, smiles shared through the fence and a bandaid set onto a scrape on his elbow. He'll probably never see her again, and it's okay. He...never holds onto friends for long, it seems.

But his heart betrays him, even as people chatter about the new girl's chilly attitude and snobbish behavior. That doesn't sound like the girl he remembers, and it's not as if they will have several, if any classes together where he might catch a glance of her. He should stop thinking about it.

Of course, it's when he's reminding himself of this fact of the umpteenth time that her name reaches his ears. Oh, it's Alisaie, I think. Even her name is pretentious. But Prompto isn't even listening anymore, his heart suddenly thunderous in his chest.

It...can't really be her, can it?

So Alisaie is not the only for whom the week is agonizingly long, because as it passes for Prompto, his racing thoughts only speed up, lingering on her as he tries to catch glimpses of her in the hall, to confirm for himself the news that has reached his ears. He's distracted - even more than usual - to the point that even Noctis comments on it, and he's already got the correct diagnosis. Another pretty girl is on his mind, is she? Though that's not entirely correct. While Prompto has no doubt that Alisaie has aged into a fine young lady, he's far less concerned with that as the fact that she is here at all, that his first friend has somehow come back into his world again.

Perhaps it shouldn't be such a big deal to him. After all, it's been...what, at least five years? Probably even longer since the Leveilleurs moved. Surely long enough for Alisaie to forget all about him, about that awkward, shy, chubby kid next store who could barely speak a word to her without stumbling over himself. He has no reason to get his hopes up, and yet he does anyway. He's so desperately excited to meet her again, to speak with her, and yet in the same turn, he is absolutely terrified to as well. What will happen? What will she say? Can she really be as icy as they say? Will his precious memories of the two of them playing as children be swapped out for something fresher, something cold?

...Hah. Not a chance.

Still, that doesn't make it easy to seek her out once he finally has the chance. Or...chances, as the case may be, as Prompto has had several openings to approach Alisaie during the week that he chickened out of at the last minute. But now it's Friday, and the lunch period is his last chance to see her before the weekend. If he doesn't talk to her now, you can bet how he's going to spend the next two days sitting on his hands and repeatedly asking himself why he didn't talk to her, so - better to get it done now. He'll spare himself and Noctis a headache that way. Not that the prince still won't get a earful about her in either case, but - well, that's besides the point.

He tracks her down at the little table outside during lunch, and it...makes his heart ache, a little, to see her sitting alone. But it's unmistakably her, even all these years later, and his throat closes up unhelpfully as he stands a few yards off, deliberating for a very long moment before approaching. Better...to move in and not weird her out by just watching her eat lunch from a distance, he thinks.

Deep breaths. ]

H-hey! Uhhhh - crusts. Am I right?

[ Nailed it. ]

[adelphoi]

[ she can feel the weight of eyes on her, but that is nothing new. alisaie has gotten looks her entire life; people do not like girls like her, who keep to themselves and build high walls, whether they think it's an air of mystery or a snooty conceit, it always gains her.. attention, whether or not she likes it. of course, the fact that she is taking advanced classes and set to graduate two years early does not help. people have certainly been staring, at both her and her brother, the entire week, but of course, alphinaud is blending in quite spectacularly already. he has always had a way with people.

nevertheless, she pays the weight of those eyes no mind, keeping her eyes on the page, flitting over the words, popping a bit of sandwich into her mouth every few moments while she reads.

and so his voice takes her by surprise, and at first alisaie isn't sure he's even talking to her at all until she lifts her eyes from the pages of her textbook to find him standing there. what? why is he talking to her? alisaie pauses, then glances behind her to check that he hasn't actually been addressing someone else, but of course there is no one there.

with a crease in her brow, alisaie flicks her eyes to him again, and there is.. something familiar about his face, his blue eyes and scattered freckled, but still she does not know him. ]

What?

[adelphoi]

[ at the start of the week she had been.. quite nervous, if she's honest. the idea of spending so much time with someone who is all but a stranger to her now had had her quite anxious, tying herself up in knots over what they would do, what they would talk about, if he would even like her, now. surely she has not changed as drastically as he has, but she has changed. she's grown, and if anything her social skills have only worsened as the need for them grew more and more important. more than likely he will not like her - after all, no one ever has, really.

it certainly doesn't help that he's.. very cute. alisaie does not spent much time thinking overmuch about romance, but his freckles are charming and his smile is warm and magnetic, his eyes sparkling with every laugh. not that she has much chance to see it, given they do not share any classes, but still she passes him at times in the halls, or during lunch.

by the end of the week, she is coming to regret even that much contact. she had hoped that he might still be the kind boy she had once known, but age and puberty have changed him, it would seem. fit and stylish as he is now, it seems all to have gone to his head, and she supposes that she really should have braced herself for the truth of it, but it is still nonetheless.. disappointing. he's changed too much for her to reconcile, and that he seems to be close friends with the prince, of all people, surely does not help. how could anyone not become a snob, when associating so closely with royalty? and royalty like him, no less? from all she has seen of noctis he is a lazy, spoiled brat, hardly willing to put in the effort necessary to succeed, ignoring his instructors and napping through classes.

she should not feel so crestfallen as she is, yet here she is, let down. friday comes all too soon, the end of the day wrapping up, and alisaie has made no attempt to contact him or speak with him; she supposes that she should be thankful that they did not exchange phone numbers. perhaps she can wriggle out of this unscathed, without the need for confrontation..

so at the end of day she moves quickly to her locker, making quick work of her bag, jamming her books and folders and binder into it as swiftly as she can. ]

[punshots]

[ Yeah, asking her for her number probably would have been a smart move. But Prompto had barely made it through that first conversation with his wits intact. Asking a cute girl - no, not just a cute girl, but a cute girl who was his only childhood friend - for her number? Good one.

But now it's nearing the end of the week and they have made no further plans for their weekend meetup. He kept meaning to stop and talk to her in the hall, but every time they crossed paths it seemed better to just smile and say hi and let her keep going. He doesn't want to impose on her time too much, and with brains like hers, she must be so busy with coursework. Should he even try to meet with her this weekend? Surely she has better things to do than hang out with him.

But he had asked her, and she had said yes, and he will not renege on that arrangement just because he's a chicken. It'll be fine. Probably.

After the bell rings at the end of the final period on Friday, Prompto makes a beeline for her locker, hoping to catch her before she leaves. Gee, he really waited until the last possible moment, didn't he? He sprints down the length of the hall, zipping in between students as they head out, searching desperately for the sight of her at her locker —

She's still there. He hasn't missed her. ]

Alisaie! Hey, Alisaie!

[ He continues to dash right along — a little too eagerly, perhaps, as when he should be skidding to a next to her, instead he trips over his own feet and winds up in a heap at her feet.

Wow. 10 out of 10. Spectacular.

He picks himself up quickly, though, out of breath and wincing but grinning all the same. ]

S-sorry, I [ huff ] didn't want to [ huff huff ] miss you before you [ huff ] left.

[ But he made it, just in the nick of time, it would seem. ]

[punshots]

[ Even after he has time to collect himself after her rejection, he still is pretty sure he should leave well enough alone.

Alisaie had made her opinion of him pretty damn clear. It wasn't only that she didn't want to spend time with him, but her opinion of him had soured so very quickly. Surely...he hadn't done anything so deplorable as to warrant that reaction, had he? But then he reminds himself that she isn't the same girl he knew as a child anymore. She's grown up, and maybe...she's grown a little more bitter, too. But Prompto can't quite bring himself to believe this when he remembers the way she had looked at him when they had first reunited, when she had realized who he was. Her temperament had done a complete one-eighty from then.

So...what had changed?

Perhaps it's just as he initially thought. She's lost interest or seen through his unbound cheer to his weak and vulnerable center, and she must think him terribly cowardly, for being unable to reveal his true self to others. (He is.) But that doesn't seem quite right either. On the off chance that there is some kind of misunderstanding that has come between them, he has to at least try and explain himself to her.

...But not directly. She won't want to talk to him, and that's fine. It's been awhile since he's written anything that wasn't in a text message or a homework assignment, but Prompto pens a note to her, and slips it into her locker when she's not there. Maybe she'll see it and throw it out before even reading it, and that's fine, too. At least he'll know he...tried.

He can't give up on this just yet. She...meant so very much to him, when he was younger. Still does, in fact. ]

Hey Alisaie!

Sorry if I caught you at a bad time last week. I know, I know, who waits until the end of the week like that? I guess I got a little nervous. It's not every day I have a reason to talk to a girl as pretty as you! :)

And I'm sorry for upsetting you. I want to be honest with you, so I have to own up that I don't actually know what I did to make you so mad. You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to. I get it. I should realize it on my own. But if you will tell me, I swear I'll do whatever I can to set things right. Even if you don't want to talk to me ever again after that.

If you'd rather text me than talk in person, my phone #'s below. I really hope we can still be friends. What you did for me when we were kids still means a lot to me.

Hope to hear from you soon (but if I don't, I understand!!!),
Prompto

[adelphoi]

[ alisaie certainly does not expect to hear from him again. he had made no attempt to catch up to her once she had stormed off, which is as good as an admission of his guilt, as far as she is concerned. an innocent man would defend himself. more than likely he figured she must have been a lost cause, once she confronted him.

so when she finds a note in her locker, her heart clenches in quiet fear. she doesn't have friends, she cannot imagine a note in her locker meaning anything good, and so she very nearly throws it away immediately. but her curiosity gets the better of her, so she stuffs it quickly into her pocket to read once she is home, and alone.

it is from prompto. that is.. not so surprising, she supposes. at first her face reddens with fury - a pretty girl, is she? and with that stupid little emote - gods, he's even more of a sleazy jerk than she had given him credit for, trying to get in her good graces to get in her skirt, is he? boys, they're all the same.

still.. a soft tug in her heart has her reconsidering. he had been such a kind little boy, her first and only friend, perhaps she should give him the benefit of the doubt. alisaie feels like a fool for even considering it, given she has seen enough proof of how he has changed with her own eyes, and she agonizes it for quite some time before at last, with a sigh, she swipes on her phone to text him. ]

One chance. I will be at the tire park near my old home.
Alisaie

[adelphoi]

[ however sorely embarrassed alisaie might still be about her performance the previous day, she's nonetheless excited by the prospect of seeing prompto again, and so soon. she has much to make up for, for misjudging him, hurting his feelings - and to thank him for being good enough to come forward when she would not.

but, he had said it himself. a fresh start. one misunderstanding can hardly erase all of those warm, sweet memories from her youth.

so the moment alisaie rises she is moving, shoveling down breakfast and scrubbing clean in the shower, tearing through her closet in search of something to wear. gods, she never takes this much time to decide on an outfit, why is she fussing so much? it's not as if this is.. a date, or anything. the idea alone is enough to make her ears burn, and alisaie succinctly chooses her dress for the day without further preamble, if only to prove herself wrong.

by the time she finishes dressing and combing her hair it is...... still pretty early, actually. just before noon. he's surely awake by now, but.. it's still probably too early, right? then again, she has no idea what they're actually doing. maybe they should have, uh, figured that out. it gives her a good reason to contact him, however, and so she tosses herself down onto her bed and scoops up her phone. ]

What is on the agenda for today?

[punshots]

[ It's a colossal relief when he receives that message from Alisaie, because Prompto has been up since the early morning hours himself deliberating over when he should text her. Was 7 AM too early? Yeah, probably. So he waits, literally sitting on his hands at some moments, touching up every last hair for the rest, until he receives her text.

Though that releases a whole new net of butterflies in his gut. What is on the agenda for today? He hadn't planned anything, really — he isn't much of a planner, and planning something would have made it feel very...well, date-ish. And that's not what this is. It isn't. It's just two friends reconnecting and hanging out! And yet it feels like he should have at least some loose ideas in mind, especially once he receives that message.

So...let's see. ]

hey! good morning! :)
so it's pretty nice outside
we could always go hit up a park or even the pool
maybe the zoo!
or if youd rather stay inside we can have a
STUDY PARTY
and food is a given at some point
thoughts?

[punshots]

[ Having Alisaie back in his life has been, in a word, wonderful.

Even despite their rocky start, since they reconciled that night at the tire park, Prompto and Alisaie have been thick as thieves. In fact, the only person Prompto possibly spends more time with is Noctis, and even that is a close call. Noctis probably wishes Prompto spent a little less time with him, considering how much of their time together is spent in Prompto waxing poetic about Alisaie at every opportunity. But who can blame him? He feels like the luckiest guy in Insomnia to have two such wonderful friends. And Alisaie, she's...

She's something else. Of course, he knew that before, but it's only been further cemented in his mind after all these months. It hadn't taken him long at all to realize his feelings for her were not strictly platonic, though the revelation was hardly surprising. She's smart, clever, witty, bold, beautiful, fun to be around...she's everything he's ever thought he'd want in a girl. Not that - he'd asked her out. Not...in a million years, though once he'd realized the depth of his feelings for her, he had been a bit more awkward and jumpy around her than usual. It took a little time for things to even out again, but regardless of his heart, he knows how things have to be. She's...great, but he's him, and there's no way she'd ever go for him as more than a friend. And he won't risk jeopardizing that friendship for anything. If he lost her now, he wouldn't know what he would do with himself.

No, they're just friends. And...he's okay with that. Of course he is. He's happy. Her friendship alone is more than he deserves. How can he possibly even think of wanting for more? Ha.

Besides, it's tough enough just being her friend, with the way her family is. More specifically...her dad. He can barely step foot around her house without getting a look that could kill from her old man, and he knows he would prefer it if Alisaie spent less time with him. While Prompto doesn't want to go deliberately pissing off the guy, he also...doesn't necessarily have those strong familial relationships himself that might make him more inclined to abide by these particular rules. No, when they're not hanging out at his house, they have to be sneaky, and he goes along with that, even if he does feel a bit guilty.

Tonight he's sneaking over to help her study for her upcoming chemistry exam. He's no science buff himself, but he can read and hold flash cards, which is about all she needs from him. Of course, he can't just go waltzing up through the front door and then proceed to the bedroom without alerting her father, so instead, Prompto crosses behind the house quietly before he begins to throw pebbles at her second story window.

Tap, tap, tap... ]

[adelphoi]

[ when first she'd heard that they would be returning to insomnia, alisaie had been.. apprehensive. she had not settled well into the city when first she had lived there, but then, she had not exactly settled back into tenebrae, either. while it might have felt more like home, more comfortable, she had not really made friends there any more readily than she had in insomnia.

still, being uprooted again, halfway through her high school career, was a daunting idea, and frustrating to work through, once the move began. she missed classes, exams, study time that all needed to be made up, and she faced the ever intimidating task of assimilating once more. even worse, assimilating somewhere she would be seen as strange not only for her behavior, but for her heritage. what a nightmare.

but prompto has been her unexpected salvation. alisaie does not put much stock in the opinions and judgments of her peers, but no girl is an island, and to be so.. isolated, so out of place, was not a comfortable feeling. prompto has been warm and kind and welcoming, he had been forgiving and understanding; he had been the only friend she had ever had, and now he is her only friend once more. she needs no more than that. his company is uplifting, and while it might cause some.. familial strife, well, alisaie is quite used to frustrating and disappointing her parents, anyway. she will not have her friendships policed.

of course, she remains blissfully unaware of the nature of prompto's feelings for her. though romance is all but expected to be on the mind of a girl her age, alisaie has hardly given it a thought. she has work to do, after all, to keep her studies on track to graduate early, several universities already breathing down her neck, and an equally prodigious brother to keep up with. she may not give a damn about her peers, but she certainly gives a damn about alphinaud, and not allowing him to show her up too easily. so if prompto's smiles make her skin feel warm, if his attentions squeeze her heart a certain way, she certainly does not see it for what it is. prompto is sweet with everyone. he's a kind, generous soul, sensitive and giving and helpful, he gives this sort of love to anyone who might want it.

she enjoys every second of it, nonetheless, and the breath of fresh air that his presence beside her brings.

at the tap tap on her window alisaie starts, her brow creasing, but when the noise does not stop she climbs off of her bed, away from her spread open books and notes and workbooks, to investigate. it takes her only a moment to recognize that ridiculous hair, and alisaie is quick to pull her window open. ]

Prompto! What in the world are you doing?

[ she whispers harshly, though her smile betrays her heart. ]

I thought you weren't available tonight?

[adelphoi]

[ prom night comes.. far too quickly.

alisaie had accepted easily, embarrassingly pleased about it, but it wasn't until the following day that she fully measured what it is that she's committed to. something like prom - gods, she'd assumed she would not go at all. why would she? there's no real reason to, and not only does alisaie not enjoy crowds, she isn't particularly fond of dressing up, either. sure, her normal wardrobe is nice enough, but formal gowns are an entirely different game. she's going to look a fool, and she knows it. and she's going to have to dance with prompto, he is her date, and that alone brings with it.. oh, so many complications, stirring up a warmth in her heart she had not recognized. of course she is fond of prompto, she has always been fond of him, but romantic pursuits were simply so far off from anything she had planned for herself that any sort of affection beyond the platonic did not even register on her radar.

and yet, here she is, looking into her reflection in the mirror with her heart in her throat, butterflied in her stomach, impossibly excited to see him, to spend this night with him - for once, to act her age. she's checked her face for a hundred times, smoothed and straightened her dress even more, checked and rechecked her hair and very nearly simply dumping it all out her window and going to bed instead. this is terrifying.

even more terrifying is the sound of the ringing doorbell. is he early? is she late? oh my god. ]

[punshots]

[ To say that Prompto is nervous would be a colossal understatement.

He is beside himself with nerves, has been buzzing with them since the question had left his lips. Taking Alisaie to prom was something he had never planned on. Sure, he'd thought about it in his daydreams, about what it would be like, to hold her and spin her and tell her how beautiful she looked, but that was the extent of it. He hadn't intended to actually ask her at all, until he had, and then even more impossibly, she accepted.

He's well aware, of course, that she did so because they are friends, because Alisaie, for all her sharpness and rough edges, has a kind, loyal heart, and she would not turn him down if he earnestly asked. He knows how she feels about formal events, and so he considers several times offering to let her out of the deal, to absolve her of any guilt of presumed responsibility to go with him since he had asked. If he were being honest with himself, that was probably more of an excuse in place of his own fears and worries. There are secrets Prompto has kept from her, from everyone, that if she knew, there's no way she would have accepted his invitation, friend or not. He deserved that rejection, for what he was, where he came from. Such sweet things were not meant for him, desperate as his heart may be for love, but there is something stubborn in him that doesn't allow him to cancel on her, no matter if it may be what's best for both of them.

(That "something stubborn" is absolutely the way she had smiled when he asked her, the color in her cheeks, the warmth in her eyes. Had he really had that kind of effect on her?)

The night comes all too quickly, and soon enough, Prompto arrives at Alisaie's door in a midnight blue tux that feels far too tight and hot, his hair done up just perfectly (until his sweat ruins it, anyway). He's never worn something like this before in his life, and though he feels pretty sharp in it - if he may say so himself - that does little for his raging nerves. Not a moment later, the door swings open, and Alisaie's father gives him a cold, hard look. Will he turn him away without so much as a second thought? Prompto is almost expecting it when the Elezen huffs, stepping aside to allow Prompto inside, though he...does not go far at all.

It would seem he will observe them while they meet up. Awkward... ]

N-nice weather we're having, huh? Sure is...copacetic out there. Yup!

[ save him pls ]

[punshots]

[ The one day they spend apart after prom night is nearly unbearable for Prompto. He can't stop thinking about her, about what an amazing night it had been, about how it had been everything he could have possibly imagined and so, so much more. After Alisaie slips out of his room that night, leaving him dazed and dizzy and sated, he can barely sleep for how occupied his thoughts are with her. She had given something so special to him, and while...he perhaps didn't get to say everything he should have, he has no regrets. He couldn't possibly have regrets. Not after that.

They aren't able to see each other on the following Sunday, though Prompto texts her often, and calls her in the evening so they can talk a little bit. In some ways, it's like nothing has changed. They still joke, still tease, still ask after one another and enjoy the other's company, even at a distance. But there are marked differences. A bit more breathless laughter, a softer note in their voices. A brief pause when he's saying goodbye, before he adds "sweetheart".

Are they dating now? It would probably be...prudent to actually discuss that in the very near future, but it certainly feels as if they are. His heart clenches up with warmth every time he thinks of her, hears from her, and she seemed to have no regrets about last night's tryst. That she would choose to give such an important part of herself to is such a privilege, and part of him can't help but fear that if she knew the truth about him...she would have chosen differently. But that niggling thought can't quite overpower his euphoria, and he's still elated by the time school comes around again on Monday. Prompto is there all the earlier so he can wait for her by her locker, playing on his phone, a warm, pleased smile on his face that hasn't left since the prom. ]

[adelphoi]

[ prompto isn't the only one eager for the week to begin. honestly, she would have been happy to meet up with prompto again on sunday, but she hadn't wanted to come off as.. needy or over-eager, and she certainly hadn't wanted to tip off her family members. besides, after a night so intense they likely both needed a day to decompress, to unpack what had happened and digest it, even if they had not necessarily wanted to. but her heart gives a little leap every time she receives a text message from him, and when he calls her sweetheart the butterflies riot in her stomach.

she doesn't want to assume too much. prompto has not.. asked her out, necessarily, though they're both clearly flirting with the idea. unless she's overthinking it? gods, interpersonal relationships are so complicated, even the good ones. maybe it's best to simply.. not think too hard about it, to let whatever happens happen.

nevertheless, she's still pleased as punch to see prompto waiting by her locker, and she can't help the way her smile broadens almost painfully. clutching her books to her chest, alisaie beelines right for her locker. ]

Good morning.

[adelphoi]

[ it's kind of disgusting, how excited she is for this.

alisaie has never once tittered over anything, least of all a boy, but as she darts about preparing her room, and the house, that's exactly what she's doing. she smiles at every text message, every reminder, on the hour, of when he will arrive.

three more hours.

the house is well-kept of course, but she finds ways to be finicky. she checks and doublechecks the pantry and cabinets to be sure they have plenty of good food for the week. she makes sure that the pool vacuum is running, so they can swim.

two more hours.

she sees that the bathroom is stocked and clean, that there are plenty of fresh towels, that the laundry is all finished. she makes sure all of the game systems are properly hooked up in the common room, that everything is in order.

one more hour.

she sees to her room. that her blankets and sheets are clean and fresh. that's.. that's important.

he's here.

when the bell rings, alisaie all but dashes for the door, flush-faced and smiling brightly, her hair shaken a little loose from her braid, her eyes shining. she's quick to snag his hand and tug him over the threshold. ]

Come in.

[punshots]

[ Alisaie is not alone in that nervous-excited feeling. Prompto has been anticipating this ever since she invited him over, and while they've spent time together during the week, quick kisses in the hallway, makeouts behind the bleachers, you know, the usual stuff, they haven't had too much time to really spend together alone, feeling out the newness of their relationship, defining what that means. Sure, they call each other girlfriend and boyfriend and hold hands and kiss, but what does that mean? Are there other ways things have changed, that they haven't anticipated? Is he even doing this right? Gods, they'd rushed in so fast, and he has no regrets, but he's still him, and—

He needs to tell her the truth. About him. But...not this weekend. He'll do his best not to ruin this chance for them to have a weekend together, without threat of her parents or fellow students or anyone breathing down their necks. It's just...them.

Here he goes.

He rings the doorbell, and Alisaie is there almost immediately, pulling the door open and tugging him inside with a warm smile. All at once, his nerves start to dissipate. How could he have been so worried, with her? ]

Hey. S-sorry if I'm a little early, I...couldn't wait any longer. [ Honestly, he's probably been standing on the corner for the last twenty minutes, debating whether or not it was too soon to show up. ] Um—

[ Once the door clicks shut behind them, he leans in to kiss her, quick but warm. ]

It's good to see you.

[ It always is. ]

[punshots]

[ Nothing gold can stay.

He'd known this would happen eventually, that what they had was never meant to last, no matter how many times he tried to convince himself otherwise. But how could he ever have thought it would? He and Alisaie are from different worlds. She deserves so much better than him. He never could be the boyfriend she deserves, in the end. After all...he hasn't even brought himself to be honest with her about who he is.

Still, from the moment her father seeks him out to speak to him, his heart aches with sorrow so acute that he's never really felt anything like it before. Being with her has been some of the best times of his life, if not the best time. He wouldn't trade their relationship for anything —

Or, well. Mostly anything.

Her father makes himself clear enough. Their relationship must end. He has photographic evidence of them together, and he will report Prompto to the police for being with a minor if needs be. And where will that leave Alisaie? Heartbroken, her reputation tarnished, and it's already so difficult for an Elezen to integrate in a foreign country. How difficult he would make the rest of her life, all because he couldn't keep it in his pants.

It's devastating, to say the least, and Prompto has only a day to act before her father makes his move. He doesn't have time to deliberate, to find an alternative solution, dammit, he doesn't have time to do anything —

There is only one thing he can do, even if it would seem to rend his heart from his body to do it.

He has to break up with her.

His heart is heavy, his head throbbing, his mind detached when he texts her, a short simple message, asking her to meet him at the tire park later that morning, and then he goes there to wait, to pace, to reconsider over and over and over again until he feels dizzy and sick.

But there's no going back. It...wasn't never meant to last, anyway. Such good things...

...aren't meant for someone worthless like him. ]

[adelphoi]

[ in contrast, for alisaie, this day has been lovely. she and prompto are meant to go out tonight for a film, and dinner, and mayhaps after her parents fall asleep she can sneak him into her bed..

so she doesn't expect the text in the morning, but she's excited for it nonetheless - they're still early enough into their relationship that she's always eager to see him, to be near him, to slip her hands into his and lean close to him. any excuse to see him earlier is fine by her. alisaie dresses quickly, pulls her hair into a braid and hurries off.

his back is to her when she arrives, and she can see him pacing, his body language tight and stiff - gods, she can only hope nothing is wrong. he seems in one piece, and his message had not been urgent..

slipping up behind him, alisaie stands on her tip-toes to slide her arms around his shoulders from behind, pressing to his back, and hooking her chin over his shoulder. ]

Could not wait for tonight, to see me?

[ she says, her voice lilting, turning her head to press a line of quick, playful kisses to his cheek. ]

[adelphoi]

[ the fall of lucis will ring in her memory forever.

alisaie, for her part, has done.. decently enough for herself, all things considered. her parents both had been lost with the city fell, away from home in the night, but alisaie, with her brother at her side, had managed to escape the city with a handful of other citizens, fighting her way through the backstreets with little more than a single rapier.

since she was young she had learned to fence, though her parents found it immensely unladylike, and a waste of her time, alisaie had kept to it. the sword felt right in her hand from the moment she lifted it, and moreover, fencing helped her to expel her frustrations in a far healthier way than snapping at her brother or peers. who could have known that it would one day be so useful..?

with time, she had learned to combine her natural magic affinity with the blade, and truth be told it is likely all that kept her and alphinaud alive in the earlier years. with no family or friends to guide them, they had made their way on their own, scrounging their way from outpost to outpost for work, and she grew stronger, for the hunt. though they had not gotten on terribly well in their youth, she and her brother are now a force to be reckoned with, and they have learned well to make it on their own. he keeps their books, charts their travel, sees to payment and lodging and food, and she.. kills things. hunting is dangerous work, and therefore quite lucrative. the bounties themselves bring in plenty to live on, and that is not even counting the parts and pieces she can haul back to sell raw, or provide to alphinaud for his alchemic experiments.

still, hunting is not enough. the nights grow darker, and rumours of the crown prince and his followers begin to thin, until at last the sun rises no longer.

she has no idea whether or not prompto is still alive, and she has done her best to try not to care. her youth was another time. another life. prompto made his choice, and at the prince's side, surely he would be as well cared for as he could possibly be.

no. she does not need to think of him. she does not need to think of anyone but herself, her brother, and the smallfolk as a whole, a collective. the world. but she never finds herself allowing others close again - and in a world like this, she has even less reason to.

the night is deep and dark as she travels tonight, her campsite is comfortable and safe, but in the distance she can hear the low, haunting, mechanical roar of iron giants. they are not near enough to cause her trouble, but she listens for them nonetheless to track their movements. tonight, it seems, they are quiet.

that is, until they aren't.

the sounds of fighting in the distance are unmistakable, steel clashes and the ground trembles and alisaie is off in an instant, cutting through the dark forests, her keen hearing and sight a boon to her when hunting in the darkness. has some fool traveler been caught unawares? or mayhaps another hunter? even a seasoned one would have trouble taking down one of those giants alone, they are fierce and enormous and impossibly strong.

she finds it reeling back, preparing to strike with its mighty sword, but alisaie dashes in to crash into the blade's side, knocking it away from its prey, and before it can recover she attacks, quick and relentless. fire and black lightning crackle from her hands, stone lifting from the earth to hurl itself at her enemy, and she leaps high, cutting at it with her rapier, savaging its face until at last it falls with a wailing, echoing groan, slamming hard into the earth, still and silent, the scourge peeling its corpse away slowly.

slick with sweat and breathing hard she turns on the man on the ground, the giant no sooner hitting the ground before her blade is turned on him, catching in the faint light, its sharp edge beneath his chin. ]

State your business.

[ this darkness has brought out the worst in men, and the night is often thick with thieves, and worse. ]

[punshots]

[ He may have bitten off more than he can chew, but when had that ever stopped him before?

Still, perhaps it was a little foolhardy, even for him, to attempt taking on an iron giant by himself. But with Gladio and Ignis out of the area, and few other hunters even willing to consider it, Prompto had no choice but to go alone. Its presence had been threatening supply lines, and in a world like the one they live in now, short supplies can be the difference between life and death. He had to do something. He has to do something. That he is still alive in this time is nothing short of a miracle, and so he will keep fighting for the people around him, and for the king that is someday fated to return, so they can bring back the light.

But now he's miscalculated, put himself in a fight he can't win on his own. Even his strongest firearms only glance off of the creatures immense armor, and in the end, it becomes a battle of stamina. Who will tire and let his guard down first?

In this came, it's Prompto, and the iron giant throws him back, winding him as his head snaps back painfully on the ground, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

Is this...it? Is this where he will die, after everything? In some ways, it wouldn't be so bad. He would see his parents again, he would see Lunafreya again, the king again...Alisaie again. His chest tightens painfully as it does anytime he thinks on her, and the horrible mess he had made of their relationship, of how he'd thought to provide her with the best future she could have. But he'd said such awful things to her that day, things he could never forgive himself for...especially after Lucis fell, taking the Leveilleurs with it.

But those aching regrets are so far in the past now that they feel like old wounds, now. At least if he dies here, now...he can apologize to her at last.

The iron giant moves, ready to strike him down, but before it can do so...something intervenes. No, not something — someone.

Prompto takes the opportunity to scurry back, but he doesn't think to get to his feet as he watches an accomplished mage and swordsman — swordswoman? it's difficult to tell in the darkness — take down the iron giant with one hit after the other. The creature falls and dissipates into the darkness from whence it came, and then his rescuer turns on him, the tip of their blade at his throat. She speaks, and something in her voice arrests him. He only has the flashlight clipped to his vest and the stars to see by. It's not enough to make out her face. But that voice...

He puts up his hands in a sign of surrender, his weapons vanishing in a flash of light, breathing hard as he squints through the darkness up at her. ]

I-I'm a hunter. I took a request to take this guy out, but you did all the hard work. Th-the bounty's yours.

[ Just...please. Don't kill him. ]

[punshots]

[ He told himself that would be it. That even if he saw her again, she wouldn't speak to him, and he...wouldn't push her to speak with him again. She'd made her feelings perfectly clear, even told them to him to his face. She doesn't like him, and one hot night of passion hadn't changed that. She'd used him to feed a need, and for as much as he hadn't wanted it too, he can't help but see the irony in it. That she would seek this connection with him in the same way that she believed he had done to her, but without the pretense of being a lover. There was nothing loving or tender about that encounter.

Nor is there anything loving or tender about their next encounter, or the next, or the next.

Slowly, a pattern emerges. They don't seek each other out, but their work draws them to the same locations more often than not. The pass each other outside motel rooms, pressing keys into one another's hands, their invitation clear. She comes to him, more often than not, but he is not an unwilling partner in this arrangement, either. For as complicated and devastating as the feelings in his heart are, there is no denying how good it is. The heat, the pressure of another's body, the warmth of their hands and mouth and skin. None are as rough as that first time, but Prompto has learned his lesson not to be tender with her. They give each other what they want. They don't speak after. They drift into dreamless sleep and part wordlessly the next day. It happens again, and again, and again.

But he...can't go on like this.

It's been months, now, since he had first found out she was still alive, and still, he hasn't had a chance to open his heart to her. She hasn't budged even an inch, unwilling to let him in again, and for someone he is so close to physically, emotionally he has never felt further apart from her. Each tryst brings a sweet release, but each time, the loneliness sets in sooner, drags him down harder, erodes his hope just a little bit further. This...is all he will ever be to her now. An outlet for hot, pleasurable, but ultimately meaningless sex.

It's on a cold, rainy night in Old Lestallum when he sees her next, passing her in the hallway of the inn where, as usual, he gives her his room key. This is...who they are now. This is what they do. And it'll feel great, but it will eat away at him, and remind him keenly of what he will never have again.

In the evening, he waits in his room, sitting on the end of his bed, waiting for her to arrive.

This is who they are now. ]

[adelphoi]

[ this is who they are now.

but to alisaie, this is who they have always been. this is what they became when he first revealed to her what his true intentions had been all along, how he had thought of her. to alisaie, this is nothing new.

of course, that does not necessarily make it easy. clearly it must be worth the pain for how often she goes back to it, how easily they allow it to happen again and again - they are not without reward. those few moments where she can just.. let herself go, allow herself to sink into simple pleasure, into the touch of another person - it's so good she can hardly find words for it. it relieves an impossible pressure, it allows her to forget, even for a moment, all the hard, dark terror in her life, the memory of all she has lost, the toll it takes simply to exist in this world right now.

a small part of her also can't help but feel vindicated. she is in control now. he is the one who will be used, the one who will bend to her will. it isn't something she admits proudly, but it's one of many dark truths surrounding this.. thing they have made.

the room is like any other, like all those they have visited before, the same four walls, the same lonely bed, and he waits for her, as he always does.

alisaie toes off her boots and shucks off her coat, tossing it aside and over the back of a chair, wasting no time in leaning over him, finding his mouth with her own, pressing him back to the sheets with her hands on his shoulders and her knees around his hips. ]

[adelphoi]

[ after the crown city fell, learning to be on her own was.. difficult. she and alphinaud were all they had in the world, with only one another to rely on and take care of. they were young, soft, naive.. it's a wonder they were able to survive at all.

but they grew stronger. more self-sufficient. she learned to survive. things got easier.

now?

gods.

what will she do? losing prompto had been so much more difficult than she had expected it to be, and she can't help but blame herself for it. she never should have let him in again to begin with. she never should have allowed what happened to happen. she never should have allowed herself to feel so strongly for him. she'd convinced herself that she was in control, but she was wrong. much as alisaie likes to fancy herself wild and independent and cold, no woman is an island, and least of all her. her heart has ever been soft and easily bruised.

and now - now here she is, alone again, a child in her belly, her heart heavy as a stone. what will she do? should she tell him? he need not be a part of its life, but still, he should.. know, shouldn't he? should she seek him out? should she keep it to herself?

there are far too many questions in her mind and heart that she has no answers for. for now, she keeps to herself. she delays her hunts, works instead on odd jobs and deliveries, hoping that keeping busy will offer her clarity.

so far, it has not. the cold night air feels as unforgiving as ever as she rides beneath the trees, winding her way back toward lestallum after an outpost run. foolishly, she does not see nor hear wraith that lurks in the night, not until it is too late. it strikes her hard with long claws, knocking her clear off of chobi's back and onto the cold forest floor, the breath kicked from her lungs. fearlessly, the chocobo turns with a battle shriek to deliver a savage blow across its face with strong talons.

where is her rapier? she cannot find it - it's lost in the dark nearby. scrambling, she reaches blindly for it, but finds only handfuls of mud and grass. ]

[punshots]

[ It's pure chance that bring their paths together again. Prompto hasn't followed her trail, not even when he's caught wind of an Elezen woman passing through the areas he visits. He doesn't watch for her at rest stops or campsites. He doesn't do anything which might get his hopes up that their paths will cross again. So, of course, their next encounter catches him entirely by surprise, especially by the very nature of it.

He's out on yet another hunt, his life rote and predictable, as these days pass in darkness and solitude. He keeps moving, because he knows he has to. He knows he has to meet Noctis on that final day. But whereas before there were other things that kept him fight now...so much of the fight has gone out of him. He's just...tired, and there's no rest. Not really. Not without someone to watch his back, and Gladio and Ignis are on the other side of the world from him right now. He is entirely and utterly alone, once again. For better or for worse, he's starting to grow numb to it, the isolation seeping deep within him, turning him inward. It's alright. It's better this way. He won't...hurt anyone else. He won't make more trouble for others than he is worth.

...But even so, he can't ignore the sounds of distress when he hears them. The wraith is not what he has headed into this territory to track, but there's the screech of one nearby, and the sound of a chocobo crying with fury. That...that can't mean anything good.

Thoughtlessly, he spurs his own bird onward, towards the sound of the scuffle, slipping out of the saddle in one fluid motion as he comes across the scene. There is someone downed on the ground, and oh, gods, don't let him be too late, please, let him save just one person...

Drillbreaker appears in his hands a moment later, and he lunges forward with it, piercing the creature's body before jumping back to avoid its claws. ]

Run! [ He shouts over his shoulder at the downed rider. ] Get on your bird and run!

[ Maybe he can at least buy them enough time to get away... ]

[punshots]

[ Even after awakening, his recovery is not easy. Prompto's injuries from the wraith were severe, only narrowly missing vital organs that would have killed him instantly if they were hit, his body needs time to repair after such a devastating near-miss. However, after awakening that first time to find both Alisaie and their unborn child alive and well, the effort to recover becomes so much easier. He still sleeps often, his bouts of consciousness brief and fleeting, before he lets himself succumb again, but that Alisaie is so often at his bedside makes him want to spend more and more time awake. There is still...much unsaid between them, the air still tense and confused, but something has changed, too. He isn't sure what it is, and he hasn't dared approach it yet. No, she will have to be he one to do so, because as far as Prompto knows, after he recovers she will be on her way out of his life again and he's worried that bringing it up will send her away from him again. Perhaps it's selfish, but right now...

Right now, he just really doesn't want to be alone. And the baby...

He dreams of it often. What it might be like to be a father, to hold his child in his arms for the first time, to teach it to walk and rock it to sleep when it cries and coo gently in its ear. Such dreams bring a pang to his heart when he recalls them, because as things are now, he can't picture his life really being that way. Alisaie has carved out her own path in this world, alone, and he can't imagine her deviating from it just so he can be around to help raise the baby. Besides, she...made it clear there was nothing to salvage between them. So...it will just have to remain in his dreams for now.

In the meantime, his recovery gives him plenty to focus on. With strict instructions from his doctors, Prompto is now allowed to take small walks around his room with some crutches, so long as he's careful not to mess with his bandages. He manages to make it to the window when he hears the door and close behind him, and so he turns slowly to find Alisaie there. His heart leaps into his throat as it always does around her, but he smiles, too. This is a big day for him, after all, being up on his feet again. ]

Hey. Good news! I don't have to learn how to walk again.

[ And thank the gods for that. ]

[adelphoi]

[ it's slow going, of course, but that he is recovering at all seems a blessing that she cannot be anything but thankful for. like as not he's recovering more quickly than the average person simply by merit of being prompto, but alisaie helps it along as best she can with plentiful vercures, offering him potions, and helping to change his bandages. soon enough he'll be released from the infirmary to finish his coalescence on his own..

but for now, he's beginning to get around. so when alisaie enters to see him on his feet she cannot help but smile in a way that lights her entire face, right up to her weary eyes. she'd known that he would pull through from the moment he first opened his eyes again, but seeing him stand and move on his own has truly cemented that knowledge. he's going to be just fine. ]

So I see..

[ she says with a chuckle, setting her canvas bag down on the foot of his bed. ]

Doubtless even if they had claimed you wouldn't, you would find some way.

[ prompto has far too much energy and determination to allow himself to never walk or run again, after all. ]