The Far Edge of Fate (Final Fantasy XV)

CHAPTER 26 - NO REST FOR THE WICKED

Luckily, they made it on the train with a few minutes to spare.

Everyone piled in, looking and smelling rancid. They called dibs on different showers, grateful that there were ones provided. When Aaralyn got out of hers, she went to take a well-deserved nap, feeling stasis prickle at her skin. Curling up on one of the seats with her head in Noctis's lap, she quickly slipped into sleep. When she awoke several hours later, blinking and bleary-eyed, the sun was a little lower on the horizon.

"Afternoon," Noctis told her, smiling down at her. He had his chin resting in his hand, elbow braced against the armrest. His free hand had been resting over her midsection, trying to tuck her into him as best he could despite their position. "Sleep well?"

"Like a rock," Aaralyn mumbled. She braced her hand beneath herself to sit up, groaning in satisfaction as something in her back popped nicely.

"Good to hear," Noctis helped her sit up, rubbing his hand back and forth along her arm. "Feel okay? No stasis hangover?"

"Little bit of one," Aaralyn admitted. Her head hurt a little, but it was nowhere near as horrible as some of the other stasis hangovers she'd had. "But it's not bad. I can deal. I'll get an ether from Cassielle later."

"Might be waiting for a bit," Noctis nodded across the aisle. Aaralyn followed his gaze to see Cassielle and Gladiolus, asleep on the bench across from theirs. Somehow, the two of them had squeezed themselves flat on the bench, with Gladiolus lying flat and Cassielle passed out on his chest, her face tucked contentedly into his neck. Autumn was across from them, lying on her side in her bench, asleep.

Aaralyn smiled. "Aw."

Noctis eyed them. "That can't be comfortable."

Aaralyn turned her head to look at him with a coy smile. "Says the person that's fallen asleep standing up."

"That was one time," Noctis scoffed.

"Honestly, it was impressive," Aaralyn couldn't stop herself from teasing. "Never seen anyone lean against a bar and almost immediately pass out before."

Noctis immediately smothered his hand over her mouth to get her to be quiet. His ears were turning pink, which Aaralyn immediately thought was adorable. The second thought she had was to lick his hand—which she did. Noctis yelped, pulling his hand away wiping it hurriedly on his pants.

"I don't know what you expected," she told him. "You put your hand over your mouth."

Noctis stuck his tongue out at her, his attention snapping across the aisle again when Cassielle shifted sleepily. "We should go somewhere else, so we don't wake them up," he suggested.

Aaralyn nodded in agreement, glancing over her shoulder at her slumbering best friend. She knew better than anyone how grumpy Cassielle tended to get when something woke her up. Noctis offered her his hand and Aaralyn took it, standing up and shimmying out into the aisle and down the train. He followed behind her, hand in hers and still wiping the one she'd licked on his front.

They made their way through the train to the dining cart. Several people were already inside, getting drinks or snacks and discussing the trip in earnest detail. Aaralyn found an empty booth to slip into. Noctis sat across from her, setting his arms on the table. For a warm, blissful moment, there was nothing but amiable silence between them. Aaralyn listened to the hum of conversation around them, tired but content.

She dragged her gaze from staring emptily out the window to Noctis instead, silently admiring him. Gods, she was lucky. Not everyone got to say their best friend was also their significant other, and while Noctis was the sole heir to a fallen kingdom, none of that mattered to her as much as his company did. She was glad she'd listened to Nyx and Lunafreya (though the thought of the latter made her sad) and took that chance that night in front of the Leville. She just wished the days after they'd finally had a proper conversation hadn't been muddled with grief and despair. Noctis hadn't quite been himself since Lunafreya had died and with good reason. He was powering through the worst couple of months in his entire life and Aaralyn didn't blame him for it.