What the Heart Wants [Noctis Lucis Caelum Short Story]

VIII

We never know
the love of a parent
till we become parents ourselves

It was a quiet night, as the young king lay collapsed on the bed in slumber. His mind went into free-fall as it began to swirl in a carousel of dreams. Falling asleep was prime time for Noctis. It was in these few long hours submitted in slumber was he freed from royal duties as a kingdom's king. In his dreams, he wasn’t a king, nor a member of royalty, in his dreams he was just Noctis, a young man with no responsibility to weigh on his shoulders.

However this moment was short lived when he heard a light knock on the door of his bedroom. In his youth, Noctis was a deep sleeper--having the ability to sleep through anything, even when Prompto almost crashed the car during their journey. Of course as years progressed, and Noctis grew older, this blessed ability to submit into deep slumber became more difficult. For on, it took longer for Noctis to fall asleep, and second, even the slightest of sounds was enough to jolt him awake, putting him on high alert. And the simple knock of the door was enough for him to jolt up.

Rubbing his sleep filled eyes, Noctis slid out of the covers, slipping his feet in his shoes and walked towards the door. Slowly he grasped the handle and pulled the door open. Peeking out, his eyes furrowed when he saw no one in sight. However, when he felt a sudden tug on his pyjama pants did he looks down.

There standing before him was a little boy who appeared to be the age of six years. He had dark hair and big blue eyes which stared up at him--an uncanny appearance to Noctis when he was a child. However unlike most time, there was an evident look of fear filled in his bright blue eyes.

“Nyx.” Noctis addressed the child, it was a name which Luna had picked out and was insistent on keeping It’s special to me. Luna had told him, and Noctis didn’t question it. “What’s wrong?” it was odd to see his son out of bed at this late hour.

Nyx didn’t reply, but instead tightened his hold on Noctis pant leg. In his arms, Noctis noticed the Moogle toy which he had given to him as a present when Nyx was a toddler. In all honesty though, Noctis had forgotten about the birthday of his own son, and unfortunately had to find something from his old belongings very last minute. Fortunately however, Nyx had taken a liking to this Moogle toy, despite it being filled with holes and loss stuffing, and had kept it with him ever since.

A sigh sounded past Noctis' lips. He knew that look well. “Did you have another nightmare?” he asked the little boy.

Nyx remained silent and responded with a nod. That was all Noctis needed to pick his son up in his arms and walk him to the bed, settling beside him under the covers. The silence continued, but Noctis noticed the trembling of Nyx’s form. Awkwardly, Noctis took hold of his hand, which was clenched tightly on the sheets. Such a simple gesture was enough for Nyx to relax and look up at his father. Noctis realised from the years of watching Nyx grow, he was a boy of very little words. However the look in his eyes as he stared up at Noctis showed clearly that he wanted to talk.

“Do you wanna talk about them to dad?” Noctis asked.

Nyx didn’t immediately respond, but Noctis heard a few sniffled coming from the little boy. It wasn’t long until he heard sobbing. He was crying and Noctis could see snot dribbling out of his son’s nose. “I-It was dark.” he stammered. “A-And I was all alone. I was calling out to you and mummy, but no one came to help me.” he continued to sob. “I-I was so scared papa.” Nyx wailed, and buried his face in Noctis chest, his tears becoming heavier.

Noctis raised his arm and placed it on Nyx’s head, running his fingers through his small son’s hair. The feeling was strange, yet so nostalgic. Noctis could remember when the time when he was Nyx’s age, and he would run to his father at late hours, crying about the nightmares. Regis would hold him for as long as he needed to until Noctis had fallen asleep in his arms, and he was carried back to bed. Thinking back on those memories now, a sudden pain began to manifest in his chest. It was then did he come to the realisation of how much he taken the time that he spent with Regis for granted. There was still so much he wanted to tell his own father, so much he wanted to do with him.