[ Her sigh tells him what he desperately wanted to know, which is that that was the right answer, as terrifying as it might have been to give. But he has no regrets in giving it to her. He means it, wholly. He will do whatever it takes to see her again once their time with the Circle ends. His heart will never forget her, even if his mind might. In the end, it was an easy answer to give, because it's the only one for him.
However, he isn't expecting her to take his hand, and immediately, the contact has his heart skyrocketing into his throat, and his face flushing anew. He'd though...he'd thought her mind was made up, that there was no convincing her, that they would stay just friends. He hadn't said any of this in an attempt to convince her to see things his way. His words would remain the same, were they friends or...or more. But the way she takes his hand then, weaving her fingers through his...
Had he been mistaken? Had she...not closed herself off to the possibility?
His breath catches as his eyes are drawn to their joined hands between them, but only for a moment, before he lifts his gaze back to her own. ]
...Alisaie?
[ Her name is a question that contains his entire heart. ]
[ to be honest, even alisaie does not know what she wants.
well, that is not entirely true. she knows what she wants, of course - she wants to continue exploring this thing, to be close with him, to dip her toe into the waters of courtship, and the sort of closeness she has never really known. she wants to follow her heart, to lean into his touch, into all that he offers, and navigate.. whatever this is, with him.
that is what she wants. even if she also feels that it is not what is best, for either of them.
and yet, when he says her name that way, quiet and gentle and so poignantly, she cannot help herself - thoughtlessly she leans forward, and presses a warm, chaste kiss to his cheek, bumping her nose to his skin. even that much is enough to make her heart leap up into her throat, fluttering fast, her hand in his clasping tightly, trembling. ]
She kissed his cheek. Unprompted, all of her own volition. This is no birthday kiss, and it doesn't seem like a kiss of gratitude or appreciation either, one that she might have given him as a friend. As soon as her lips make contact with his cheek, his brows fly up as he gasps softly, reaching up to press his fingers to the lingering spot of warmth and wetness her kiss had left there.
It was real. He didn't dream it. Alisaie kissed his cheek, and she's still holding his hand tight, like its anchoring her as much as its anchoring him.
For a moment, all he can do is gaze at her with something between surprise and wonderment in his eyes, trying to piece this all together in his mind, trying to understand what it means. But instead of responding with something eloquent or sweet, or a kiss of his own to return the favor, in true Prompto fashion, he blurts out: ]
[ she says, her voice tight, all nerves - look, it took a lot of courage for her to do that, prompto!! ]
I suppose I.. um.
[ swallowing thickly, she falls silent again, searching for the right words. the last thing she wants to do is lead him on again, but neither does she want to.. entirely discount the idea of what they both want. why must this all be so complicated. ]
Let us just.. move forward one step at a time, and see what comes of our time together. Is that.. is that fair?
It's not a complete turn-around. But it's more than he expected. Far more, honestly — he had thought he would come here and meet up with her and maybe, just maybe, they could figure out a way to go on being friends. But instead, she's holding his hand tightly, the warmth of her kiss still lingering on his cheek, and those words ring in his ears and bounce around in his head until they feel as warm and soft as a blanket.
...She's willing to give this a chance. She's willing to give them a chance.
His exhale is quiet but quaking, and for a moment he drops his gaze away, a warm smile splitting his face. ]
...Totally fair. So fair, it's like a carnival all up in here!
[ ...Is she sure about this.
A soft laugh slips from him as he meets her eyes once more. ]
Okay. You got it. One step at a time, you and me, Ali.
[ he's doing it again, saying those strange words that mean nothing to her..
but he could break into a song of gibberish for all she cares, because he seems happy, content with her answer, which is the best she could have asked for. the tight fist that has been squeezing her heart for days now at last begins to loosen, and the sounds she makes through a soft, exhaled laugh is low-key joyous, a week of tension melting away. gods, she had been so sure that she would lose him, too. ]
Aye.
[ you and me.
she shouldn't feel so giddy, hearing that..
alas, she must release his hand now though, in order to finish spreading out the food between them. ]
I want to know more about you. About Eos. About who you are.
[ they've chatter plenty, and learned about each other at face value, but.. if he hopes to take this thing between them deeper, thee is more she would want to know. everything. ]
[ She's not the only one feeling that immense wave of giddy relief, though he can barely begin to reconcile what's just happened. They're...no, not dating, exactly, but...testing the waters. She hasn't shut that door on their future together completely. And one step at a time, they'll see where this path takes them. It's exhilarating, and he has to resist the urge to throw his arms around her, or alternatively, get up and run a lap around the lake. Gods, he could sing, he's so elated right now.
That warm static is enough that his comprehension of her words is a little slow than usual, and he wills his heart to slow down and his mind to start, you know, functioning normally again. But there's no discounting how thrilled he is, how he's going to be thinking about this for the rest of the day, and the rest of the week probably. How they're giving it a chance. ]
You bet. You want all the gritty details about my high scores on King's Knight, you got 'em. [ He says around a laugh, before at last he picks up a heel of bread, though he almost has too many butterflies in his stomach to eat. Good butterflies, mind, but butterflies nonetheless.
It's an easy concession to make, though. Alisaie already knows his deepest, darkest secret — if she can know that and still...still even entertain the possibility of being with him, then anything else will be easy.
But then he reaches out his hand, nudging her gently on the shoulder with his knuckles. ]
You know the same goes for you, too, right?
[ He knows it's not easy for her to open up, but she's already gone a long way in sharing her fears with him. Maybe she will be willing to share more, with what they're trying to build together.
[ he's not the only one feeling giddy, though of course, alisaie's excitement is harshly tempered by her fear and misgivings. he made her a promise, and his words are not hot air blown in an attempt to win her over to his cause - no, he means them. she may not believe that they can possibly find some way to be together beyond this place, but she believes him, so if he feels that a way can and will be found.. well, she will put her faith in him. not in the circle. not in astoria. not even in herself. but in prompto.
for now, that will have to be good enough. ]
Yes, yes..
[ she says, wryly, while slicing an apple into two halves, one of which she offers forward. ]
[ He chuckles again — he can't seem to stop chuckling, honestly — as he takes the offered apple-half and takes a bite out of it. Really, at the end of the day, it was a simple promise to make, but Prompto has always trusted in his heart before anything else. If he feels so deeply that they can make this work somehow, then he has no regrets in telling her as much.
He has no regrets about any of this, save waiting a week to see her again. Maybe he needed time to really come to terms with his feelings for her — and her feelings for him — but as they say, all's well that ends well.
Or begins well, in this case. ]
Soooo, you want me to start with my high score on King's Knight, then?
[ She is gonna have a regret. But it is nice that they can fall back into the regular routine so easily, like nothing has changed at all, when so very much has. ]
Well.. if that is what you would like to tell me about..
[ even despite her response, she can only hold back her smile for so long. honestly, if prompto wants to talk about king's knight for an hour, she's happy to hear it. it's still about him, about his life, about the things he did before she met him, which makes it just as important as all the rest. she doesn't always need the poignant tales of his youth. it's the little details about a person that help you to really know them, and she is just as happy to hear about those as she is to hear about his lifechanging experiences.
[ Well, he was mostly kidding, but now she's actually asking about it, and he finds himself at a crossroads between telling her way more than she could ever want to know about a shitty mobile game, or giving her the abbreviated version and going on to something a bit more meaningful, perhaps. He might love the game, but he knows this isn't really what she was asking for. ]
It's more like a...way of life. [ He knocks his elbow playfully against hers as he takes another bite. ] Yeah, 'course it's a game! Only, like, the coolest mobile game around. Me 'n' the guys used to play it all the time when we were travelin' around. Great way to pass the time at camp, or waiting for Noct to fish...
[ He says with no small degree of nostalgia. Hey, he came around to something more meaningful after all! Also, because I don't feel like going to look up the mechanics of King's Knight. Gacha is probably involved. ]
[ keep in mind she doesn't know what mobile games are, and even with her wrist thingy to remind her of tech, her thoughts still don't go that way, so she's definitely picturing this as like.. some sort of board or tabletop game, or something with marbles or little figurines. what a pain it must be to set it up over and over when they're out camping and roughing it!!
after polishing off the apple, she's smearing butter onto a hunk of bread. ]
It sounds like it was very important to you..
[ she says through a fond smile. it might be a shitty mobile game, but it's part of his history, it's something that he clearly holds a fondness for. ]
[ Yes, the set-up and clean-up for King's Knight was certainly extensive........
He goes for a chunk of cheese next, breaking off a piece of it to eat with the bread that's already sitting in his lap. For all his nerves, he's actually pretty hungry, though he is far less anxious than he was before. There's still a lot they need to figure out, but that can all wait. For now, he's more than content to just...enjoy her company, talk with her, and be by her side. ]
Youuuu could say that again...I might've kinda been a King's Knight-aholic. Played it a bit in Struxta since I could power up my phone there, but it wasn't the same.
[ And it made him more than a little homesick — but this is a happy conversation, and he doesn't want to bring it down unnecessarily. ]
Anyway — c'mon, now it's your turn! I wanna hear some Alisaie trivia straight from the source. Spill!
[ look, it's not her fault she doesn't know what mobile games are!! she's so new to this technological life. struxta was a wild ride for her.. she's even more confused when he talks about having played it recently, because his phone was powered up?? she does not understand the correlation.
and she would ask after it, but then he is suddenly and rudely turning the tables!! alisaie's brows lift in mild surprise, she hadn't been done interrogating him yet! ]
Me?
[ she pauses before she can take a bite of her bread, her brow creasing thoughtfully. ]
Well, I.. what is it that you want to know?
[ it's not like her life is interesting or anything!! ]
[ That's how it works, sweet cheeks! She might want to hear more about his life, but by the same turn, he is dying to hear more about hers. Surely his arcade adventures and mobage high scores are nowhere near as interesting as her missions with the Scions.
Though for his question, he reaches back a little further than that. ]
Will you...tell me about Sharlayan?
[ He's heard little from her about Eorzea, but even less about her homeland. What was it like? When had she left? And...why?
[ wow well that's quite different from asking about stupid king's knight that's for sure!! she looks surprised for a moment, but i mean, it's not like she can say no. she doesn't want to say no.
so she thinks back instead to the motherland, and while it's only been a handful of years since last she saw sharlayan's shores, so much has happened within that time that it feels as if it were absolute ages ago that she was there at all. she was so ready to be rid of the place, but distance makes the heart grow fonder.. her expression softens. ]
Well.. Sharlayan is an island nation off the coast of Eorzea, a city of scholars. It is beautiful, with tall white pillars and buildings, and mountains of books and tomes and scrolls.
But it's not hard at all to picture Alisaie growing up in a place like that, and he leans back, picking at his bread as he listens to her talk. What he wouldn't give to see the world she came from...every time she mentions it, it sounds like such a beautiful place. The sort of place that just begs to be photographed.
He is quiet a moment, before he asks, gently: ]
...Why did you leave?
[ She had mentioned it to him before, but he hasn't asked then. Why had she left home, if it wasn't to join the Scions in the first place? ]
but she asked for this, really. she is the one who started with this digging into the past idea, though really she had been preparing to ask prompto questions, not the other way around!! but she supposes that she has asked quite a bit of him already. he's told her so much about himself, about his past, and where he came from, but she has not offered too much in return, because he had not asked, and she is not the sort fo volunteer information without being prompted.
well, she's prompted now. ]
My grandfather left Sharlayan when I was very young, and never returned. I left to find answers. To understand the purpose of his death, to find meaning in it that I could accept.
[ She is being prompted now, and though Prompto has wondered about these things before, he hasn't wanted to ask, because he didn't want to pry. He wanted to leave the choice up to her, should she choose to share more of her personal history, and the choice is still hers now. But things are different now, too. They have both actively chosen to get to know one another better in pursuit of this...something that exists between them. That it was her idea makes it all the easier to ask, though he makes himself an excellent listener nonetheless. It's one of the few things he is truly, exceptionally good at.
His tone remains quiet, gentle, as he meets her gaze levelly. ]
He...died? [ Oh. Alisaie had mentioned losing people close to her, but she hadn't realized...how very close she meant. ] I...I'm sorry, Alisaie. I-If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. It's okay.
[ The last thing he wants to do is make her feel pressured to talk about something she isn't ready to. Before they go any deeper, he just...has to make this clear. ]
[ she says, waving one hand dismissively, and though her expression is soft and sad she seems comfortable and calm. still, no matter how much time passes, she's not sure she will ever entirely heal from louisoix's passing. he was taken from this world too soon, he had so much left to teach her, and not a day passes that she does not wonder what he would think of her choices, or if he would be proud of her.
but prompto uncovered the depths of his heart to her, she owes him the same. besides, it is.. nice, to talk about him. though it hurts, though it will always hurt, she wants to remember him fondly, to keep him alive in her heart. ]
It was years ago, now, but I was so.. angry, then. Angry at him for leaving me, angry at the world for taking him. So I left my home to understand why he left.
[ Slowly, the pieces start to fit into place, painting the bigger picture of her life as things begin to tie together. She had told him that she was seeking answers before, but never why, and it all makes more sense now just how personal a journey it was. Alisaie had wanted answers for a beloved family member's death.
He shifts slightly, moving just a little bit closer so his elbow brushes hers, a tangible reminder that he's here to support her, no matter what. She's opening up to him in ways she hasn't before, and he can absolutely recognize that. ]
And...what did you find out? Why did he leave?
[ He has no doubt that her grandfather loved her dearly, so whatever reason he had for leaving must have been an important one. ]
[ she says, through a dry chuckle. she found out many things, things about her grandfather, things about eorzea, things about herself. so many of these things she is still learning, even now, still internalizing.
her gaze flickers up to his face at the touch of his arms to hers, and she offers him a smile that is sad but genuine, warm despite her age-old sorrow. ]
I learned, at least, that he died fighting for what he believed in, following his heart to the end, and that offered me some semblance of direction.
[ So...there's a lot more to it than that. It's not surprising, considering just how important this seems to be to her, and content though he would be to just sit here and listen to her talk about her life until the sun goes down, he doesn't dig deeper just now. There will be many more conversations, many more opportunities for them to become acquainted with the finer details of each others' lives.
For now, she has already told him more than enough. Her grandfather died fighting for something important, and for someone with as much conviction as Alisaie, that no doubt meant a great deal. ]
...Well, yeah, duh! Of course I would. [ He reassures around a laugh. He would like anyone who was so important to her. ] But...hey. Even if I don't know him, I know he'd be proud of you.
[ And the person she's become, the person she is still becoming. ]
[ if only he knew just how much of her personality she inherited from her grandfather, he may like him even more. when she was young, and so very different from her peers and everyone around her, louisoix was the only one who not only supported her for being herself, but encouraged her fire, for like as not he saw his own mirrored within it. no one has ever understood her quite like he had, not even alphinaud, and she is not sure that anyone ever will.
so to hear prompto say those words..
tears rise unbidden in her eyes, hot and prickling and so sudden that it flushes her face a blotchy pink. she inhales sharply, blinks rapidly, holding them at bay, but they linger still on the fringe of her lashes. her heart is squeezed by an unseen hand. ]
.. thank you.
[ she says, tremulously, a smile lingering at the corners of her mouth. offhand a comment though it might have been, it nevertheless means a great deal to her. ]
...But those tears turn out not to be due to anything negative, or because she doesn't agree with his sentiment. Still, that makes it no easier to witness them gathering on her eyelashes, and thoughtlessly, his hand moves over hers, squeezing gently.
No, he hadn't meant those words to affect her quite so deeply, but seeing that slight smile upon her lips, he's glad that it has. That he was right in perceiving just how much her grandfather meant to her — still means to her. ]
I mean, how couldn't he be? You're so...amazing, Ali. Anyone could see that.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
However, he isn't expecting her to take his hand, and immediately, the contact has his heart skyrocketing into his throat, and his face flushing anew. He'd though...he'd thought her mind was made up, that there was no convincing her, that they would stay just friends. He hadn't said any of this in an attempt to convince her to see things his way. His words would remain the same, were they friends or...or more. But the way she takes his hand then, weaving her fingers through his...
Had he been mistaken? Had she...not closed herself off to the possibility?
His breath catches as his eyes are drawn to their joined hands between them, but only for a moment, before he lifts his gaze back to her own. ]
...Alisaie?
[ Her name is a question that contains his entire heart. ]
no subject
well, that is not entirely true. she knows what she wants, of course - she wants to continue exploring this thing, to be close with him, to dip her toe into the waters of courtship, and the sort of closeness she has never really known. she wants to follow her heart, to lean into his touch, into all that he offers, and navigate.. whatever this is, with him.
that is what she wants. even if she also feels that it is not what is best, for either of them.
and yet, when he says her name that way, quiet and gentle and so poignantly, she cannot help herself - thoughtlessly she leans forward, and presses a warm, chaste kiss to his cheek, bumping her nose to his skin. even that much is enough to make her heart leap up into her throat, fluttering fast, her hand in his clasping tightly, trembling. ]
no subject
She kissed his cheek. Unprompted, all of her own volition. This is no birthday kiss, and it doesn't seem like a kiss of gratitude or appreciation either, one that she might have given him as a friend. As soon as her lips make contact with his cheek, his brows fly up as he gasps softly, reaching up to press his fingers to the lingering spot of warmth and wetness her kiss had left there.
It was real. He didn't dream it. Alisaie kissed his cheek, and she's still holding his hand tight, like its anchoring her as much as its anchoring him.
For a moment, all he can do is gaze at her with something between surprise and wonderment in his eyes, trying to piece this all together in his mind, trying to understand what it means. But instead of responding with something eloquent or sweet, or a kiss of his own to return the favor, in true Prompto fashion, he blurts out: ]
Okay, now I'm really confused.
[ Has she...changed her mind? ]
no subject
[ she says, her voice tight, all nerves - look, it took a lot of courage for her to do that, prompto!! ]
I suppose I.. um.
[ swallowing thickly, she falls silent again, searching for the right words. the last thing she wants to do is lead him on again, but neither does she want to.. entirely discount the idea of what they both want. why must this all be so complicated. ]
Let us just.. move forward one step at a time, and see what comes of our time together. Is that.. is that fair?
no subject
It's not a complete turn-around. But it's more than he expected. Far more, honestly — he had thought he would come here and meet up with her and maybe, just maybe, they could figure out a way to go on being friends. But instead, she's holding his hand tightly, the warmth of her kiss still lingering on his cheek, and those words ring in his ears and bounce around in his head until they feel as warm and soft as a blanket.
...She's willing to give this a chance. She's willing to give them a chance.
His exhale is quiet but quaking, and for a moment he drops his gaze away, a warm smile splitting his face. ]
...Totally fair. So fair, it's like a carnival all up in here!
[ ...Is she sure about this.
A soft laugh slips from him as he meets her eyes once more. ]
Okay. You got it. One step at a time, you and me, Ali.
no subject
but he could break into a song of gibberish for all she cares, because he seems happy, content with her answer, which is the best she could have asked for. the tight fist that has been squeezing her heart for days now at last begins to loosen, and the sounds she makes through a soft, exhaled laugh is low-key joyous, a week of tension melting away. gods, she had been so sure that she would lose him, too. ]
Aye.
[ you and me.
she shouldn't feel so giddy, hearing that..
alas, she must release his hand now though, in order to finish spreading out the food between them. ]
I want to know more about you. About Eos. About who you are.
[ they've chatter plenty, and learned about each other at face value, but.. if he hopes to take this thing between them deeper, thee is more she would want to know. everything. ]
no subject
That warm static is enough that his comprehension of her words is a little slow than usual, and he wills his heart to slow down and his mind to start, you know, functioning normally again. But there's no discounting how thrilled he is, how he's going to be thinking about this for the rest of the day, and the rest of the week probably. How they're giving it a chance. ]
You bet. You want all the gritty details about my high scores on King's Knight, you got 'em. [ He says around a laugh, before at last he picks up a heel of bread, though he almost has too many butterflies in his stomach to eat. Good butterflies, mind, but butterflies nonetheless.
It's an easy concession to make, though. Alisaie already knows his deepest, darkest secret — if she can know that and still...still even entertain the possibility of being with him, then anything else will be easy.
But then he reaches out his hand, nudging her gently on the shoulder with his knuckles. ]
You know the same goes for you, too, right?
[ He knows it's not easy for her to open up, but she's already gone a long way in sharing her fears with him. Maybe she will be willing to share more, with what they're trying to build together.
Together. It feels unreal. ]
no subject
for now, that will have to be good enough. ]
Yes, yes..
[ she says, wryly, while slicing an apple into two halves, one of which she offers forward. ]
But I asked first!
no subject
He has no regrets about any of this, save waiting a week to see her again. Maybe he needed time to really come to terms with his feelings for her — and her feelings for him — but as they say, all's well that ends well.
Or begins well, in this case. ]
Soooo, you want me to start with my high score on King's Knight, then?
[ She is gonna have a regret. But it is nice that they can fall back into the regular routine so easily, like nothing has changed at all, when so very much has. ]
no subject
Well.. if that is what you would like to tell me about..
[ even despite her response, she can only hold back her smile for so long. honestly, if prompto wants to talk about king's knight for an hour, she's happy to hear it. it's still about him, about his life, about the things he did before she met him, which makes it just as important as all the rest. she doesn't always need the poignant tales of his youth. it's the little details about a person that help you to really know them, and she is just as happy to hear about those as she is to hear about his lifechanging experiences.
the apple crunches loudly as she takes a bite. ]
Is this King's Knight a.. game?
no subject
It's more like a...way of life. [ He knocks his elbow playfully against hers as he takes another bite. ] Yeah, 'course it's a game! Only, like, the coolest mobile game around. Me 'n' the guys used to play it all the time when we were travelin' around. Great way to pass the time at camp, or waiting for Noct to fish...
[ He says with no small degree of nostalgia. Hey, he came around to something more meaningful after all! Also, because I don't feel like going to look up the mechanics of King's Knight. Gacha is probably involved. ]
no subject
after polishing off the apple, she's smearing butter onto a hunk of bread. ]
It sounds like it was very important to you..
[ she says through a fond smile. it might be a shitty mobile game, but it's part of his history, it's something that he clearly holds a fondness for. ]
no subject
He goes for a chunk of cheese next, breaking off a piece of it to eat with the bread that's already sitting in his lap. For all his nerves, he's actually pretty hungry, though he is far less anxious than he was before. There's still a lot they need to figure out, but that can all wait. For now, he's more than content to just...enjoy her company, talk with her, and be by her side. ]
Youuuu could say that again...I might've kinda been a King's Knight-aholic. Played it a bit in Struxta since I could power up my phone there, but it wasn't the same.
[ And it made him more than a little homesick — but this is a happy conversation, and he doesn't want to bring it down unnecessarily. ]
Anyway — c'mon, now it's your turn! I wanna hear some Alisaie trivia straight from the source. Spill!
[ He nudges her elbow with his own again. ]
no subject
and she would ask after it, but then he is suddenly and rudely turning the tables!! alisaie's brows lift in mild surprise, she hadn't been done interrogating him yet! ]
Me?
[ she pauses before she can take a bite of her bread, her brow creasing thoughtfully. ]
Well, I.. what is it that you want to know?
[ it's not like her life is interesting or anything!! ]
no subject
Though for his question, he reaches back a little further than that. ]
Will you...tell me about Sharlayan?
[ He's heard little from her about Eorzea, but even less about her homeland. What was it like? When had she left? And...why?
They'll...get to that. ]
no subject
so she thinks back instead to the motherland, and while it's only been a handful of years since last she saw sharlayan's shores, so much has happened within that time that it feels as if it were absolute ages ago that she was there at all. she was so ready to be rid of the place, but distance makes the heart grow fonder.. her expression softens. ]
Well.. Sharlayan is an island nation off the coast of Eorzea, a city of scholars. It is beautiful, with tall white pillars and buildings, and mountains of books and tomes and scrolls.
[ nerd city ]
no subject
[ Yep.
But it's not hard at all to picture Alisaie growing up in a place like that, and he leans back, picking at his bread as he listens to her talk. What he wouldn't give to see the world she came from...every time she mentions it, it sounds like such a beautiful place. The sort of place that just begs to be photographed.
He is quiet a moment, before he asks, gently: ]
...Why did you leave?
[ She had mentioned it to him before, but he hasn't asked then. Why had she left home, if it wasn't to join the Scions in the first place? ]
no subject
but she asked for this, really. she is the one who started with this digging into the past idea, though really she had been preparing to ask prompto questions, not the other way around!! but she supposes that she has asked quite a bit of him already. he's told her so much about himself, about his past, and where he came from, but she has not offered too much in return, because he had not asked, and she is not the sort fo volunteer information without being prompted.
well, she's prompted now. ]
My grandfather left Sharlayan when I was very young, and never returned. I left to find answers. To understand the purpose of his death, to find meaning in it that I could accept.
no subject
His tone remains quiet, gentle, as he meets her gaze levelly. ]
He...died? [ Oh. Alisaie had mentioned losing people close to her, but she hadn't realized...how very close she meant. ] I...I'm sorry, Alisaie. I-If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. It's okay.
[ The last thing he wants to do is make her feel pressured to talk about something she isn't ready to. Before they go any deeper, he just...has to make this clear. ]
no subject
[ she says, waving one hand dismissively, and though her expression is soft and sad she seems comfortable and calm. still, no matter how much time passes, she's not sure she will ever entirely heal from louisoix's passing. he was taken from this world too soon, he had so much left to teach her, and not a day passes that she does not wonder what he would think of her choices, or if he would be proud of her.
but prompto uncovered the depths of his heart to her, she owes him the same. besides, it is.. nice, to talk about him. though it hurts, though it will always hurt, she wants to remember him fondly, to keep him alive in her heart. ]
It was years ago, now, but I was so.. angry, then. Angry at him for leaving me, angry at the world for taking him. So I left my home to understand why he left.
no subject
He shifts slightly, moving just a little bit closer so his elbow brushes hers, a tangible reminder that he's here to support her, no matter what. She's opening up to him in ways she hasn't before, and he can absolutely recognize that. ]
And...what did you find out? Why did he leave?
[ He has no doubt that her grandfather loved her dearly, so whatever reason he had for leaving must have been an important one. ]
no subject
[ she says, through a dry chuckle. she found out many things, things about her grandfather, things about eorzea, things about herself. so many of these things she is still learning, even now, still internalizing.
her gaze flickers up to his face at the touch of his arms to hers, and she offers him a smile that is sad but genuine, warm despite her age-old sorrow. ]
I learned, at least, that he died fighting for what he believed in, following his heart to the end, and that offered me some semblance of direction.
[ a low, quiet chuckle. ]
You would have liked him.
no subject
For now, she has already told him more than enough. Her grandfather died fighting for something important, and for someone with as much conviction as Alisaie, that no doubt meant a great deal. ]
...Well, yeah, duh! Of course I would. [ He reassures around a laugh. He would like anyone who was so important to her. ] But...hey. Even if I don't know him, I know he'd be proud of you.
[ And the person she's become, the person she is still becoming. ]
no subject
so to hear prompto say those words..
tears rise unbidden in her eyes, hot and prickling and so sudden that it flushes her face a blotchy pink. she inhales sharply, blinks rapidly, holding them at bay, but they linger still on the fringe of her lashes. her heart is squeezed by an unseen hand. ]
.. thank you.
[ she says, tremulously, a smile lingering at the corners of her mouth. offhand a comment though it might have been, it nevertheless means a great deal to her. ]
I - I certainly hope so.
no subject
...But those tears turn out not to be due to anything negative, or because she doesn't agree with his sentiment. Still, that makes it no easier to witness them gathering on her eyelashes, and thoughtlessly, his hand moves over hers, squeezing gently.
No, he hadn't meant those words to affect her quite so deeply, but seeing that slight smile upon her lips, he's glad that it has. That he was right in perceiving just how much her grandfather meant to her — still means to her. ]
I mean, how couldn't he be? You're so...amazing, Ali. Anyone could see that.
[ Them's the facts, he's just the messenger!! ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)