Sweat dripped down Noctis' face, falling onto the Scourge-stained cheeks of the man beneath him. Ardyn lay back in his seat and breathed hard through his nose. His eyes were squinted shut against what harsh sunlight slipped around Noct's slender form, and the pain of the attempted healing poured like fire through his skin. The ooze of the astral plague ran with salt, with tears, with the hot breath of the chosen prince. Noct's hands were thick with the stuff, and his fingers slipped as he tried to gain purchase on Ardyn's skin.
With his luck, the poor man would find himself infected, and then the Astrals truly would be lost, wouldn't they? Ardyn almost longed for it. Two failed chosen ones in a row? What on Eos would those dear gods do, then?
"It's ok," Noct whispered. His left knee buckled, and he landed heavily on Ardyn's waist, straddling him. "It's ok, you'll be fine."
Bless, the fool thought he was the one in need of comfort? Ardyn risked opening his eyes and shifted his hand from the base of Noct's throat to the back of his head. Noct was trembling, and his skin was clammy and too cool for the desert air. He was, Ardyn realized with disgust, drawing from his own life-force to continue. Ardyn squeezed, hard, and Noct lost concentration. The glow of his hands faded, and his arms began to shake.
"Give me another chance," he whispered, half delirious with stasis-exhaustion and what looked like dehydration. "I felt it change. Please, Ardyn, please don't..." His arms gave way, and Ardyn held him as Noct collapsed, utterly spent.
"Please," he said. "Let me try again."
Ardyn ran a hand through Noct's hair, giving himself time to think. It's true, he felt... marginally changed. Emptier. Less whole. The rage that boiled under the surface of his cheerful facade was sated, if only temporarily, despite the waves of pain that racked his limbs. If Noctis could do this, then he would be defying all Ardyn had set in place over the past two thousand years. He'd be defying prophecy. The gods.
Ardyn found he rather liked that concept.
"Very well," he said, and Noct nearly wept with relief. Ardyn raised the cloth hood of his beloved car and maneuvered the both of them so that Noct lay on the front seat instead. Ardyn climbed over him and reached into his armiger for a canteen--It was six hundred years old, but provisions never went stale when Lucian magic was involved.
"Open, my sweet," Ardyn murmured, and pressed a thumb to Noct's lower lip. Noct took some time meeting his gaze, and his lips parted slowly.
"I was never... your sweet anything," he said, and Ardyn sighed. He uncapped the canteen and held it to Noct's lips, urging him to swallow. Water ran down the prince's chin and soaked the front of his shirt.
"You could have been," Ardyn conceded. "In a different time. You know, water tastes better when you drink it. A highly unorthodox hypothesis, true, but it's worth testing."
"Asshole," Noct gasped, but there wasn't any vitriol behind it. When Ardyn held the canteen for him again, Noct dutifully swallowed. After a moment, he started to choke and shudder, and Ardyn withdrew.
Some of the fog was out of Noct's vision, but his magic was still fully drained. He lifted a hand towards Ardyn. Ardyn took it, running his mouth along Noct's blackened nails, and the healer-prince shivered.
"I was like you, once," Ardyn said, speaking around Noct's fingertips. "Young. Naïve. I believed I could heal the ills of this star with a bit of luck and a dash of Astral intervention."
"Don't need the Astrals," Noct whispered. "Just time."
"Ah, a starry-eyed blasphemer. How rare." Ardyn lowered Noct's hand, but didn't let go. "I should have discovered you years ago, dear Noctis."
"Yeah," Noct said. "Kiss me?"
Ardyn obliged--might as well, if the man insisted on killing himself just to lessen the weight of the Scourge by an ounce--and Noct deepened the kiss. As he did, Ardyn felt a spark of healing magic leap between them, and he drew back with a hiss.
Noct laughed weakly, and the only thing that stopped Ardyn from throttling him then and there was the damage he would do to the upholstery.
"One more time," Noct said. "And I'll get it right."
Ardyn patted his cheek idly, then heaved the young man onto the passenger's seat. It took some work, but Noct was eventually settled, fast asleep, with his head lolling over the armrest.
"Well," Ardyn said, swallowing down the bitter taste of Noctis' magic. "If we are to suffer, I at least shall suffer in style."
And so Ardyn turned on the ignition, spun the car carefully round the wide, dusty road, and set his sights toward the sea, and the soft, warm beds of Galdin Quay.
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timeasmymeasure
Fill: 7/? Re: Noctis is the Healer of Lucis (Ardyn/Noctis)
Date: 2017-05-21 12:53 am (UTC)With his luck, the poor man would find himself infected, and then the Astrals truly would be lost, wouldn't they? Ardyn almost longed for it. Two failed chosen ones in a row? What on Eos would those dear gods do, then?
"It's ok," Noct whispered. His left knee buckled, and he landed heavily on Ardyn's waist, straddling him. "It's ok, you'll be fine."
Bless, the fool thought he was the one in need of comfort? Ardyn risked opening his eyes and shifted his hand from the base of Noct's throat to the back of his head. Noct was trembling, and his skin was clammy and too cool for the desert air. He was, Ardyn realized with disgust, drawing from his own life-force to continue. Ardyn squeezed, hard, and Noct lost concentration. The glow of his hands faded, and his arms began to shake.
"Give me another chance," he whispered, half delirious with stasis-exhaustion and what looked like dehydration. "I felt it change. Please, Ardyn, please don't..." His arms gave way, and Ardyn held him as Noct collapsed, utterly spent.
"Please," he said. "Let me try again."
Ardyn ran a hand through Noct's hair, giving himself time to think. It's true, he felt... marginally changed. Emptier. Less whole. The rage that boiled under the surface of his cheerful facade was sated, if only temporarily, despite the waves of pain that racked his limbs. If Noctis could do this, then he would be defying all Ardyn had set in place over the past two thousand years. He'd be defying prophecy. The gods.
Ardyn found he rather liked that concept.
"Very well," he said, and Noct nearly wept with relief. Ardyn raised the cloth hood of his beloved car and maneuvered the both of them so that Noct lay on the front seat instead. Ardyn climbed over him and reached into his armiger for a canteen--It was six hundred years old, but provisions never went stale when Lucian magic was involved.
"Open, my sweet," Ardyn murmured, and pressed a thumb to Noct's lower lip. Noct took some time meeting his gaze, and his lips parted slowly.
"I was never... your sweet anything," he said, and Ardyn sighed. He uncapped the canteen and held it to Noct's lips, urging him to swallow. Water ran down the prince's chin and soaked the front of his shirt.
"You could have been," Ardyn conceded. "In a different time. You know, water tastes better when you drink it. A highly unorthodox hypothesis, true, but it's worth testing."
"Asshole," Noct gasped, but there wasn't any vitriol behind it. When Ardyn held the canteen for him again, Noct dutifully swallowed. After a moment, he started to choke and shudder, and Ardyn withdrew.
Some of the fog was out of Noct's vision, but his magic was still fully drained. He lifted a hand towards Ardyn. Ardyn took it, running his mouth along Noct's blackened nails, and the healer-prince shivered.
"I was like you, once," Ardyn said, speaking around Noct's fingertips. "Young. Naïve. I believed I could heal the ills of this star with a bit of luck and a dash of Astral intervention."
"Don't need the Astrals," Noct whispered. "Just time."
"Ah, a starry-eyed blasphemer. How rare." Ardyn lowered Noct's hand, but didn't let go. "I should have discovered you years ago, dear Noctis."
"Yeah," Noct said. "Kiss me?"
Ardyn obliged--might as well, if the man insisted on killing himself just to lessen the weight of the Scourge by an ounce--and Noct deepened the kiss. As he did, Ardyn felt a spark of healing magic leap between them, and he drew back with a hiss.
Noct laughed weakly, and the only thing that stopped Ardyn from throttling him then and there was the damage he would do to the upholstery.
"One more time," Noct said. "And I'll get it right."
Ardyn patted his cheek idly, then heaved the young man onto the passenger's seat. It took some work, but Noct was eventually settled, fast asleep, with his head lolling over the armrest.
"Well," Ardyn said, swallowing down the bitter taste of Noctis' magic. "If we are to suffer, I at least shall suffer in style."
And so Ardyn turned on the ignition, spun the car carefully round the wide, dusty road, and set his sights toward the sea, and the soft, warm beds of Galdin Quay.