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Noctis finished introducing himself to the Emperor and then looked to the side. Hauntingly familiar golden eyes met his and for a moment, the whole world seemed to pause.
"Nope," he said as Ardyn opened his mouth, already turning to his side to address Ignis. "Tell Prom we're picking up Kenny Crow tonight, no way am I staying here."
Ignis' eyes widened and he glanced at Ardyn with a frown. "Your highness, please exercise some patience for this event, it's very important for--"
"Patience? Iggy, I work in the food industry. I should go down as King Noctis the Patient when I die. Do you know how many times some customer," he said the word with all the hatred it deserved, "has asked to complain to my manager at a sushi restaurant because their fish was raw? And have I committed a single mass murder, yet? No. I haven't."
He pointed a finger at Ardyn, knowing he was being melodramatic, knowing he was drawing the attention from the rest of the Niflheim delegation that was waiting to officially greet him after his father, but he didn't care. He'd learned lifetimes ago that the same magic that kept people from realizing who Ardyn was half the time and that kept most of the people around him from noticing he hadn't aged in the 30 years they'd known him also meant people just accepted any weird thing they learned about him unless he made sure they didn't.
"And I am not spending an evening with my Uncle Ardyn right after getting off shift."
Ardyn let out a loud, hurt-seeming sigh, a hand on his heart. "So cruel, dear nephew. It has been so long since we've seen each other."
"You don't get to say that until its been at least two thousand years."
That made Ardyn's eyes narrow as he gave a smile that probably looked nice enough to the viewers but that Noctis knew promised future pain and suffering. Not that Noctis cared at this point.
"You're the former Queen's brother?" Loqi asked from nearby, having been watching the whole rant.
Beside him Aranea looked like she wished she had some popcorn and Ravus was watching Ardyn with a look of such unbridled horror that it could have either been because he had realized he was the Accursed or just because he realized he'd been working beside a Caelum for years.
On Noctis' side, Ignis was possibly having some sort of stroke, Gladio had actually taken a step back as though to say "I'm his Shield, but this isn't my problem," and Titus--Noctis didn't even want to get into how hugely unfunny it was that Titus was the one nearby when he was greeting the Nifs--seemed to be debating getting between them or stabbing someone.
If it was anyone else, Noctis would totally sympathize (he spent half his shift fantasizing about summoning his Engine Blade and lobbing off some heads, possibly only resisting because he knew he'd be the one forced to mop up the blood) (he still couldn't believe with all the other things he had to deal with when he was dragged kicking and screaming back in time again that a job was one of them).
"The quality of people you surround yourself with, uncle, explains a lot about you," Noctis deadpanned, neither of them bothering to answer Loqi.
Aranea barely contained a laugh as she pushed past him to give a quick bow to Noctis. "Your highness, great to meet you. I was unaware the Chancellor had any family, you have my sympathies."
She earned a smile and a nod, Noctis even held out his hand to shake hers. "It's wonderful to meet you, as well. If you wanna ditch, you should ask a Glaive about bars, they normally know the best ones."
"Dear Noct," Ardyn began, as if he hadn't even noticed he was talking to someone else. "I must insist on having the chance to catch up with you."
Noctis rolled his eyes. "Fine, old man, let's get this over with." He broke away from the group, giving Ravus a condescending pat on the shoulder in greeting as he walked by him, waving off his retinue.
He felt a pull at his magic and looked up as he walked off towards a less populated area, seeing his father looking between Ardyn (who he knew was Adagium) and Noctis, mouthing "Uncle?!" which must have made its way through the room already. Noctis offered a shrug and mouthed, "Mystic," back at him, unsure if he'd figure it out or ask Somnus directly when he had the opportunity.
"My, I did forget how very moody you could be as a teenager."
"I'm just as moody as a thirty year old," Noctis muttered, walking until he was leaning against a railing, looking out at the city.
Around him, the world seemed to shift and desaturate, the moving cars and airships around them pausing. His shoulders slumped, it would apparently be a long conversation, if Ardyn had anything to say about it.
A hand settled against his lower back, rubbing gentle circles over where his scars lay. "Still upset about your last death, then?"
"You fucker," Noctis breathed out, without half the rage that he used to be able to hold for Ardyn. "Do you know how long it took me to die with the Crystal's magic trying to heal me?"
Ardyn chuckled in a dangerous sort of way, hand falling away from Noctis' back to settle on the railing next to his own, the other on his other side caging him in. He felt the hard press of Ardyn's body looming over him, a nose buried in his hair and scenting him like any daemon might with something that wasn't necessarily prey.
"Oh, I can imagine, dear Noct. After all, it was such a nostalgic sight for me. You looked so lovely in those chains, if I chose just the right angle, I could imagine it was my beloved younger brother strung up in your place."
"It's been a really long time and that guy apologizes in basically every single life you meet." Noctis narrowed his eyes. "In fact, I bet you wouldn't even torture him like that."
He'd started to suspect that after a few lives, Ardyn's own anger still raged, but it had taken on a different note, mostly pointed at the Astrals. And, sometimes, when the Scourge got too much influence over him, at Noctis as their whipping boy.
"Such a lack of faith in your 'uncle,' Noct. Do I need to remind you just what I can do to this lovely city of yours? To your caring, dying father?"
Noctis turned to face him, feeling just as trapped now that he was tilting his head back to meeting Ardyn's eyes. "I don't know, you want me to blow up your airship again? I bet I could get Aranea to tell me exactly where it is and be back before anyone even notices I'm gone."
Ardyn smirked, tilting his head down. "Ah, we both know you just love explosions. After all, why else would you have come up with the lovely plot for tonight if you didn't want to watch the fireworks?" He gestured to the frozen crowd beside them and Noctis could make out more than a few people who had been looking their way before time stopped.
"You better back up before starting things up again or you'll be known as my incestuous uncle."
"We are royalty, Noct," Ardyn joked, dropping a quick kiss on his lips before taking a step away. Color and life seeped back into the world, the little pocket of the Beyond that the Caelums used for travel and storage fading away around them. "Now, I believe we should go speak with my dear brother Regis, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see me."
If this had been even ten lives ago, Noctis would regret making his dad put up with Ardyn, but now he just did his best to change things and damn the consequences, as long as they were different than what they'd already experienced.
"Yeah, why not. He could probably use the distraction."