adelphoi | (no subject)

[ she's cold.

like the last time alisaie woke in one of these pods, at first, that cold is all she can feel. it sinks deep into her flesh, clings to her bones, and though she does not feel faint or hypothermic when she stumbles out of it, she nevertheless feels deeply chilled. her mind and memory feel fogged, and as she stands amidst the rows of pods she is confused, disoriented, until -

like a heavy weight, the realization crashes down.

alisaie does not think, she only moves, sweeping past the endless rows of pods as quickly as her trembling, aching legs will carry her, her heart beating wildly in her throat. she must get home. she must find them.

how long as it been? memory flashes in the back of her mind, images of home, of where she has been and what she has been doing and gods, the entire time she had forgotten this place, she had forgotten her home here, and peo, and prompto. a cold hand squeezes her heart tightly, painfully, as years of longing begin to set in at once, for though she had not remembered him then, she remembers him now, and all the time that has passed since last she set eyes on his beloved face. she's desperate now, to throw herself into his arms, but moreover she is.. afraid. how long has she been asleep? what if he is sleeping as well, no longer here? what if he has moved on? panic clutches her insides relentlessly.

but she does not need to get home. when alisaie turns the corner to the exit, he's there - she would recognize that hair anywhere, even if it looks a little less ostentatious than usual (and a little darker?), and her heart, that had been pounding hard, now stills. ]

Prompto -

[ his name feels so sweet on her tongue, riding on a rasping breath, but it's only the briefest of moments before she's moving again, surging into his arms, her hands clasping his jaw to pull him into a hard, needy, desperate kiss. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Prompto has no doubt of that, either. Noctis chose to follow the path laid out for him, to make that necessary sacrifice, and in the end, it was always his choice. If had had done otherwise...it would have been hard to blame him.

But no, he had embraced his fate, serving as an inspiration to them all, a beacon that he can look to whenever he loses his way.

He takes in a deep, shuddering breath, leaning his brow heavily against her own when they meet. ]

...You bet he is. I...uh, did see him back up in the pods, after I woke up.

[ So...that was a bit of a shock, even if he already knew that the dead could return to this place. It's another thing entirely when it's your best friend. ]

Still...whether I ever see him again or not, it'll...it'll be okay.

[ Even if they never see any of them again it's okay, because they have each other. ]

[ he's come a long way.

years ago, prompto would have broken down entirely just to hear that noctis had gone back into stasis, alive, but now he is strong enough to accept his death with calm and responsible dignity. alisaie certainly would not be standing so tall were their positions reversed, and while he was going through all of this, mourning the loss of his dearest friend, she was only making his life difficult, she left him -

it stings, and it shames her, and she will have to make amends, she will have to apologize, but not now. he won't want to hear it now. but she won't forget. ]

Yes, it will.

[ she says, softly, both hands smoothing back through his hair, her thumbs coasting over his cheekbones. ]

I love you.

I love you, too.

[ He repeats back quietly, reverently, his hands lifting to cover her own and press the warmth of her palms against his jaw. He's so very lucky to have her, and now that they've come back together at last, he can truly begin to heal. They can both begin to heal.

After a moment he ventures to speak again, though his tone has shifted somewhat, something of his usual timbre returning to his voice. ]

Y'know...I really was gonna call you.

[ He would have caved soon enough, but her returning at the time that she did may have made it easier on them both. ]

A-and...you can come back anytime you want! But if you still need anymore time...it's okay.

[ He asked for way too much time from her. So if she needs some in return, he understands. ]

[ a soft, breathless chuckle passes her lips, and alisaie shakes her head. ]

You needn't explain yourself to me.

[ whether he had planned to call her or not, whether he would have chased her down at their old apartment.. it does not matter. she would have forgiven him either way. but he offers her now an option, it would seem - to stay, or to go, and while alisaie knows what her heart wants without question, she does not know if it is the right choice. does he still need more.. time? more space?

sitting back from him, alisaie's hands drop to his chest. ]

Peo misses you dearly. If nothing else, he should stay.

[ it's unfair to the poor pup - he'd missed them both so terribly, and now they pull him every which way, like as not he has no idea where home is, and the separation and tension between the two of them has had him nervous, sad, and on edge. he needs to decompress, to be soothed. ]

As for me, I.. I do not know what is best. Do you need time, still? What would you have of me?

[ she does not want to leave him to ache and grieve alone, but that may be what he needs. ]

[ The question has scarcely left her lips before he answers: ]

I want you with me.

[ His response comes so quickly that she may think he hasn't thought about it enough, but the truth is that he doesn't need to think about it. He knows what he wants now, and the last thing he could ever want is for her to go back to staying somewhere apart from him. He scarcely wants to let her leave his arms, let alone their house.

A moment after he's spoken, however, he leans in, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, and then, speaking against them: ]

Will you come home?

[ Home. ]

[ home..

his choice of words is not lost on her, and immediately alisaie feels a great swelling of warmth in her heart, a relief so powerful it threatens to fill her eyes with tears. she would have gone on without him out of necessity. her heart has been broken with grief many times, and moving forward alone would have been incredibly, impossibly difficult, but she would have had no choice. the prospect terrified her.

but they have grown back together. despite a ten year gap his heart had returned to her, and she can move forward with the confidence that, if this same terrible thing were ever to happen again, he would come back to her still. they had been tried and tested, their hearts strained and pulled apart, a wedge driven so deeply between them that she was sure they would never recover, but when push came to shove, when it mattered.. they found one another again. no matter her frustration and heartache, seeing him suffer so badly had reminded her of all that she holds dear, of how precious he is to her.

a soft, cracked sound breaks against his lips, her smile trembling, her voice tight with emotion. ]

Home..

[ she echoes, and closes her eyes, tightening her grasp around his shoulders, pressing as near as she can. ]

I would love nothing more.

[ Home. With her here again, and their relationship mending, it will truly become that again. Something has been missing these past few weeks, but no longer. This is home, their home, the one that they built together, and the one they will rebuild in.

She presses in near, and he welcomes it wholly, his arms winding around her back and holding her to him so as to not allow even the idea of space between them. They might regret sitting on the kitchen floor like this for so long later, but for now, he couldn't care less. He just wants to hold her close, for her to be everywhere around her, to recall every little detail about her and their shared life. ]

...Good answer.

[ A soft laugh passes his lips, quiet but incredibly joyful, and then he kisses her again, warm and full, healing and necessary. ]