—ahhhh, SURPRISE! I was feeling very squishy inside and my heart yearned for the fluffy angst as it most always does, but at least this one ends happy, amirite? Honestly, this was supposed to be sad, but it turned out fluffier (and spicier?) than I thought it would ever be

I had writer's block and all I could think of was this. I just couldn't focus on Liebestraume, and I wanted to write something else for a change. Please take it and don't ask many questions, just assume I was sleep deprived and desperate for more Lightis. My brain was tired and I just thought tiny Noct and Light would be a fun thing to explore.

(omg, this was supposed to be a cute drabble but it ran away and became a full-on story. I don't know what happened.)

X.

Even at twelve years old, Ignis Scientia was more put together than most his age and that in itself was impressive - tacking on his future advisory position to the future King of Lucis was simply overkill. However, at his age, advising the Prince was merely babysitting and it had seemed, he was doing just that (and more) today. (It was always later than the rest of the school children that the Prince would be picked up as to avoid any problems that might arise if he was picked up right in the front with everyone else.) Noctis fell into the back seat of the sleek black car and Ignis followed suit, seating himself opposite Noctis. Where Noctis was spread out over the span of the seat, Ignis sat straight, his thick frames perched on his nose.

With a little push upwards, he sighed and watched as Noctis let his bag fall onto the floor of the car and close his eyes as if he was going to sleep. Ignis picked up the bag and set it next to himself, "You should sit up, Your Highness."

"I'm tired."

"I can inform the King. If you're that tired because of having to attend school, then perhaps he can arrange for you to be tutored inside the castle, instead," Ignis traced his finger over the dark wood paneling of the car door. Noctis waited a moment before slowly pushing himself off the leather seat, his hair awkwardly stuck to the side of his face. The down turn of his lips brought Ignis into his next point. "You should smile today, it'll make everything go smoother."

"What d'you mean?" Noctis slid his gaze from Ignis to the outside buildings passing them by. He couldn't think of anything important that would warrant any sort of special behavior from himself so despite the lack of concern in his question, he was still genuinely curious. Ignis sighed once more, already so serious for a kid, "I thought I told you last week, Noct. You and your dad have to spend today with the visiting Royal Family from Cocoon."

"Oh," Noctis replied. "Right. I forgot."

"I know," Ignis tapped his knees with his fingers. "Umbra was sent from Lady Lunafreya, too, today." Noctis turned to look at Ignis, immediately more invested in the conversation than he had been before. "So, now you can smile about something, okay? Just a few hours, Noctis, and then it'll be over."

"I don't even know where Cocoon is," Noctis admitted.

Ignis just sighed again, worried that he was aging with every single one.

Ignis had walked with Noctis from the bottom of the citadel steps and he tapped his arms with his elbow, gesturing over to the line of vehicles, bearing an unfamiliar flag, with his chin. Noctis peered over in the direction, "How many people are in the Cocoon Royal Family, Ignis?"

"Four. The King, Queen, and their two daughters."

"Did they each bring a car?" He quipped and Ignis nudged his arm again.

They climbed the steps as Ignis replied, "I don't know."

"Oh, great," The younger boy mumbled, his back flung across his shoulders and a dreadful expression on his face that wore like a grimace. "Where's Umbra?"

"I suppose he'd be with the King. He always waits for you."

They reached the top steps and Ignis stopped in his tracks, his crossed over his chest and he warned, "We both have to endure this, just think of it as something to tell Lady Lunafreya about in your letter back to her."

"And what about you?"

"I am sure two Princesses won't be much different than watching you and Gladiolus," There was a hint of a smirk on the brunette's lips and Noctis rolled his eyes. Upon entering the citadel, the two young boys were met with Gladiolus Amicitia, who'd looked positively forlorn. He stood tall and straight though, always as professional as Ignis did and Noctis yawned into his fist.

"Prince Noctis, you are expected in the west dining hall by His Majesty," Gladiolus spoke. Noctis simply nodded.

Ignis held out his hand, "Let me take your bag, Your Highness, I'll join you after you are finished." Noctis gave over his school bag, and Ignis disappeared down the hall after the brunette bowed in respects to tradition of excusing himself. His young bodyguard waited until Noctis scratched his face. There was second of silence before Gladiolus spoke, straight-edged and rigid as ever, a natural downward curl of his lips giving Noctis little to no reason to believe that they would be talking, "Follow me, Your Highness."

If Noctis cared, he might have said something about the small twinge of distaste in the way he acknowledged his title. It was no secret that he and the Amicitia boy did not click immediately. Noctis liked to laze about if he didn't have to train and Gladiolus was always working to maintain a tip top condition. The Prince lounged about and his bodyguard was in the habit of forcing him to spar resulting in a few poisonous confrontations. They remained civil in the presence of others, regardless of whether or not Gladiolus liked Noctis, it was still his birthright and duty to protect the future King of Lucis. It was for that reason neither went about complaining to their fathers. It didn't matter—personal feeling rarely did in their lives.

Noctis shuffled his feet along the polished stone floors of the citadel, his hands in the pockets of his capris as he quietly followed. He was already drafting what he was planning on writing back to Luna in his head when the doors to the west dining hall, the sound of conversation biting through his thoughts. His head lifted to the sight of four foreigners, his father, and as always Clarus and Cor standing nearby. Gladiolus snapped into a sharper posture, bowing respectfully as he made their presence known. King Regis excused himself from the conversation to retrieve Noctis. The boy had not bothered to move.

The foreign King stood as well. Noctis looked around his father and wondered where Umbra was if not at the heels of King Regis. It wasn't until his father's hand rested upon his shoulder that Noctis felt the gaze and attention of the room shift unto him making him feel more than uneasy. He swallowed hard and kept his eyes fixed onto the wall behind Cor who was standing out of the way. He didn't like feeling like a bug under a microscope and Noctis shifted.

He could hear his father giving introductions. Then he felt a small squeeze, "Noctis."

Noctis looked up at his father. He was giving him that look. The Prince bowed deeply at the waist, his hands straight as a board at his side as he softly said, "It's nice to meet you."

When he straightened upwards he wasn't sure why he was face to face with pink. An obnoxious amount of it too. From her hair to the gaudy ribbons braided into it, her outfit was simply overkill and he hadn't even seen her coming. There was a small chuckle from the foreign King and suddenly his father was saying, "My son is around your age, Princess Claire, I hope the two of you can become better acquainted with one another after our meal."

She narrowed her eyes at Noctis, a somewhat severe look crossing her face before she quickly nodded and replied to his father with a curt smile, "I would very much like to see the Kingsglaive, too, Your Majesty."

The foreign Queen covered her amused chuckle with her palm, before she went to brush a strand of her hair from her face, "You must forgive me, King Regis, Claire has the dreams of being a knight it seems."

"A Knight-Princess, that would be something to behold," Regis placed his hand on Noctis' upper back and Noctis took that as a sign to begin moving towards his seat. The Princess blocked his way. She crossed her arms, her lips twisted into a curl, she didn't address him even when he bowed his head to her, she simply turned on her heels and walked back to her seat on the other side of the table.

Princess Claire sat next to what appeared to be some copy and pasted version of herself right next to her. He assumed, from what Ignis had told him that it was her younger sister. As per usual, the adults were positioned at the end of the table, further from the ears of the young children. This left Noctis to the mercy of the two Cocoonian Princesses.

Noctis pushed around the peas on his plate, drowning them in the reddish brown sauce accompanying the slice of steak on his plate. He tried to remain as unaffected by the pink haired girl's strong gaze, but it made him squirm like he was on display at a museum. Though every part of his small being told him not to look up, Noctis's curiosity (sheepish as it was) urged his eyes upwards. She sat across from him, hair up in a bow as she stared unblinking. He stabbed into a piece of meat and slowly brought it to his mouth as he averted his gaze back down to the table cloth. Princess Claire stared at him with a devilish grin on her face that he was beginning to like less and less with every passing second he had to endure its scrutiny. To avoid any eye contact with her, he tried to see how the younger one would fair, but her attention belonged to something beside her on the floor. He scrunched his nose in confusion.

Noctis wished he could slide underneath the table and crawl out of the dining hall because sitting there was unbearable. He chewed slowly, hoping dinner would pass by quickly.

"Claire, eat your vegetables," Her mother suddenly pointed to her plate at the food that had hardly grasped her attention and to the foreign Queen he was grateful. Until, she looked at Noctis' plate as well. "Prince Noctis, I am so glad to be able to meet you. I hope you don't pick up any bad habits as my daughter, though."

She waited until he ate a bite of the peas before flashing a smile and easily transitioning back to the conversation between Kings. Noctis remembered the treatment all too well. That passive expression only someone's mother could produce. His mother would have given him the same look if she was still…

Suddenly, a giggle.

"Serah, stop it!" Princess Claire whispered over to the girl. Serah laughed again, sneaking a carrot off her plate and under the table her hand went before she giggled.

"Good puppy," Serah cooed and Noctis looked at Cor who was standing on the wall behind the two Princesses. The man's gaze was firmly on the ground, his jaw tight, and Noctis snuck a peek under the table quickly. Umbra was happily licking the younger Princess' fingertips, his tail wagging delighted and Noctis sprung back up when he heard his own name.

"Yes!" He nearly shouted and the Princess Claire snapped her critical gaze towards him.

His father spoke, "Something wrong, Noctis?"

"Uh," Noctis shrugged, "Just thought I dropped my napkin. Sorry…"

"Serah, what's got you so giggly, hm?" Her mother narrowed her strikingly blue eyes, and Noctis wasn't so surprised that the older Princess had inherited such a piercing look. "Couldn't possibly be because you love your snow peas, is it?"

The Cocoonian King tilted his head, "It wouldn't have anything to do with that dog we saw roaming about earlier, would it?"

Both Princesses stiffened. Claire answered first, her tone even, "No, Father, just a joke I told Serah, that's all."

"Yup, no dog here!"

Regis said, "A dog, you say?"

The other King clarified, "Yes, we saw a dog roaming about the citadel square. Very odd, too, it seemed to be carrying something on its back...My daughter, Serah, has a tendency to bring in strays and she had nearly ran out to chase the poor thing. It fled but I am afraid I couldn't see where to."

"Umbra," Noctis suddenly said. "His name. It's Umbra." All eyes fell upon him again and suddenly Noctis hated that he even spoke up in the first place.

"It could very well be," Regis stroked his chin. He explained, "The dog you happened upon was one of the young Princess Lunafreya's messengers. My son and the Princess have been exchanging letters since he visited her for the summer. You may have startled him, but I assure you he is no stray. I had not known he was coming. Allow me to apologize if you were worried at all."

"Princess Lunafreya, you say? From Tenebrae? Well, you simply must give her my best, Prince Noctis, would you do that for me?" The Queen smiled and Noctis just nodded. He barely caught Claire whispering something into Serah's ear before it ushered another laugh from the smaller girl and Noctis felt uneasy. He dug into his peas again when the Queen turned to his father. "Well, Prince Noctis is more than welcome to visit Cocoon anytime as well. I think he would love the beaches in Bodhum. They have the most wonderful fireworks displays, but perhaps I am simply biased. Claire and Serah could show him around the castle, it would be a lovely summer!"

"Perhaps someday," Noctis heard his father answer and the small boy sank a little lower in his seat. He swore he could hear Gladiolus scoff in amusement at his pain.

Somehow, and by the grace of the Six, Noctis managed to survive the dinner. He was eager to nab Umbra and high tail it to his room where he would spend the rest of his day avoiding the thought and reality of having to entertain some Princesses from some far off land.

Or, that's what he wished he had done.

The damning: "Noctis, I leave you in charge of your two new friends, please show them around and make sure to stay out of trouble."

Nothing, and he was sure of it, was worse than having to make nice with other royal children. Honestly, his social skills were almost bordering tragic but regardless he knew when to be civil and nice when the occasion arose. He just had to power through the rest of the day and fake illness tomorrow.

At least, Umbra's on my side…

Umbra followed Serah's every move, nudging at her palms with his nose every time she would stop petting his head.

Or maybe not.

Noctis stuck his hands in his pockets. He'd taken the two Princesses - accompanied as always by Gladiolus, who towered over the entire group - to tour the castle. Not much of a verbal guide, he mostly just pointed to things and mumbled something about which Caelum Family member they had belonged to in the past. He sighed.

"Are we boring you?" Claire stepped beside him, her arms swinging at her sides. Every now and again her skirt would brush against Noctis's wrist and he eventually crossed his arms.

"No."

"Well, you are boring me, Prince Noctis," it wasn't said with malice. She had said it matter-of-factly.

Gladiolus didn't even try to hide the snort that came out in response to the young girl's proclamation.

The older girl asked, "Is there anything fun to do here?"

"Not really…"

With a sigh, the young girl turned Gladiolus, "What about you? Know anything fun to do?"

"There's the gardens, the library, the training hall, the—"

"Training Hall? Really? Can you take me there?" She perked up at the thought of having something interesting to do.

"Claire, you promised Mommy that you wouldn't ruin your skirt!" Serah had tugged on her sleeve, and Umbra rounded the two pink haired Princesses, trying to find one of their hands to scratch behind his ear. Claire gladly accepted the offer, a smirk on her lips.

"I won't get anything dirty; I'm just looking around. No harm done there."

"What would you find interesting about the training hall? Are you into swords or something?" Noctis asked, confused and half expecting—with all her pinkish glory—that she'd have jumped at the sound of a garden.

The girl, who had begun wrapping her hair into a bun and tying it taut, save for the unruly flyaway hairs in her bangs, answered, "I'm going to be Queen someday; I have to be able to protect my people. I can't do that behind a desk. I have to know how to use a sword, Prince Noctis. So, yes, I find the art of swordplay very interesting. Much more interesting than writing love letters to my girlfriend." That same smirk from before had slithered onto her lips again and Noctis' ears burned bright red.

She was whispering about him…

Umbra nudged at Noctis's thigh, as if sensing his embarrassment and feeling obligated to be on his side. The young boy looked down and found that his ouch which usually contained the notebook was...gone.

His eyes snapped to Princess Claire, "Where's my notebook?"

"Hm?"

"The one Umbra had. You took it."

"And what if I did?"

Serah bit her lip and fumbled with her hands, "Claire...maybe you should give it back…"

Noctis curled his hands into fists at his sides and Lightning crossed her arms. Her eyes, as bright blue as her mother's, narrowed in challenge, "Prince Noctis can have it back."

He began to ask, "Where is it—?"

"If he can beat me in a sparring match," Lightning jut out her hip, her white skirt bouncing a little.

"Just give me back my stuff, please."

"Your Highness," Gladiolus warned Noctis with a single glance. He couldn't just very well start yelling at the girl and like the Gods themselves were willing to spare Gladiolus the pain of babysitting these hotheads alone, Ignis appeared from around the corner. Smoothing placing himself into the group as if he'd not just shown up. Quickly he read the situation, stepping next to Noctis and gripping his shoulder firmly, but not painfully. "Prince Noctis, what are you doing?"

"She has my notebook," Noctis pointed accusingly. Ignis gave the princess a questioning look.

"Is that true?"

Claire shifted her weight onto the other foot, "Yes, I do. And I told Prince Noctis he may have it back as long as he beats me in a sparring match. 3 points. That's all."

"Your Highness, Princess Claire, I cannot allow the two of you to fight even if it's a friendly competition. If you could just return the notebook—"

"I guess you're just a coward to a challenge then," There was a mischievous glint in her eyes as she tapped on her forearm.

Gladiolus scoffed and quirked his brow as he waited what the young Prince would say or do. He quite liked the spunky ten-year old Princess. Her attitude was much more refreshing than Noctis' disregard for their sessions in the training hall.

Ignis pressed on the sides of his glasses with the back of his index finger, sighing. He had heard about the feisty Princess and had been fully prepared to keep the royals out of trouble, but with the why she seemed to look at Noctis, he was beginning to understand why his own mentors had advised to play the devil's advocate in any disputes. It was best not to upset the daughter of an allied King in these troubling times. Lucis could use all of its friends, Ignis couldn't just let one confrontation ruin any chance of future aid. "Surely there must be another way we can settle this, Princess Claire."

She slid her gaze over to the twelve year-old and scoffed, "I guess Lucians are just chickens, then."

He turned to Noctis in the next instance, stepping to the side, bowing his head a little, "On second thought, Your Highness."

Claire's smirk curved into a full blown smile, and Noctis gulped.

Noctis stood in his trained stance, a wooden replica of a sword. He tried to hide the slight shake to his hands as he stared over the tip of his own weapon at the unnervingly calm young Princess who had a similar looking wooden training "blade". Gladiolus would stand as the officiant of the sparring match. Serah and Ignis stood safely to the side with Umbra patiently seated next to the younger Farron girl.

"Serah, can you hold this?" She pulled a chain from around her neck and walked over to her little sister who held her hand out. "Keep it safe for me, okay?"

"You got it," She gave a toothy grin and Claire turned on her heels and walked back across from Noctis, swinging her sword in a flourish and readying her own blade, tapping the tip of his own sword with hers, a sure smile on her lips.

"Remember, 3 points to win. Let's avoid hitting each other in the head, Your Highnesses, okay?" Gladiolus crossed his arms, even if they were royal children, they were still children and he couldn't help but think that his warning was still necessary. "Ten steps back." They both retreated the ten paces and awaited for Gladiolus to begin the match. He looked to the both of them, "Are you both ready?"

"Always," Claire smiled, retightening her grip. Noctis simply nodded.

With a step back, he began the match. A flash of pink and Claire crossed the floor, her "blade" her body all but telegraphing a lunge that Noctis anticipated to parry an attack that never came. At the last minute, her path changed as she quickly sidestepped and slashed, coming to a controlled stop at his torso, she smirked, "One."

Ignis crossed his arms. Serah clapped her hands and Gladiolus awarded the point. They returned to their starting positions again.

"Begin."

Noctis blinked and shook his head, moving his hair, pulling his lips into a tight line. He had to get his notebook around. This time she didn't charge him and instead answered each of his own circling steps with one in the opposite direction, she sighed, "Prince Noctis, I suppose you never want that notebook back."

Annoyed with that smug look on her face, he advanced on her with a downward slash. She parried. Noctis stumbled but quickly regained his footing in time to block the strike aimed at his chest. "I think it's cute you two exchange stickers, really. It's sweet."

"Shut up…" He muttered, his next swing heavy than before. He knew she was just trying to get a rise out of him, to get him to slip up. The Cocoonian Princess had been doing it since dinner. It irked him. Each of his hits meeting with a perfect parry. "Widen your stance, Prince Noctis."

"Quit it," he grit through another parried attack. He had her on the defense, but it was easy to tell that she was letting him believe he had the upper hand.

"Fine," she said, moving her legs in between his feet. With a sweep of her foot, she had his entire stance crumbling and he felt her wooden blade at the back of his neck, "Two." It dripped from her lips with all the smugness as she stepped away from him. His grip on the hilt of the training blade white knuckled as he ground his teeth. She scoffed turning to ready her blade, "C'mon, I thought you'd put up some sort of challenge, Prince -"

A flash of blue and Claire was knocked to the ground, her words knocked out of her lungs, as his sword rested at her throat. The young Prince's eyes glowing an angry crimson and breathing ragged. Gladiolus shouted, "Your Highness, enough!"

The boy ripped his blade away as he stood and walked away, Gladiolus approaching to help the Princess up. She shook her head and sat up, using her sword to hoist herself up, with surprise mingling in with mild annoyance, "You cheated!"

Noctis turned on his position, a self-satisfied look that mirrored the one she had on before, "You never said I couldn't use it. What? Afraid now?"

Claire got to her feet, ignoring Gladiolus' hand, brushed herself off and narrowed her eyes, "As if, I don't plan on losing."

Gladiolus sighed and the next match was different than the first two. It was a clash of pink and blue. The ribbon that had tied the Princess's hair up had all but fluttered to the ground, her hair wild in the midst of Noctis' blue crystalline dust, his warping never as precise as it should be. It made his footwork clumsy and she capitalized on his mistakes. But, the speed of his attacks increased, putting Claire on guard. Each wooden blade clacked together, had they been real, sparks would have flown about judging by the sound, there was more force behind each swing than the last. It was a back and forth.

It only egged on Claire's teasing, "You really want this notebook back that badly." Their breathing was labored, a brief break for the two young royals befor Claire advanced with a lunge, Noctis narrowly avoided.

"Do you like hearing yourself talk?"

"I like the fact that you are so easy to get mad," she smirked. "I also love the way you draw little hearts next Luna's name. It's adorable. I can't wait to read more."

"Ugh! You're going down!"

"Bring it, Prince Charming," She knew she had him on tilt. It was easiest to score against an opponent when you had them right where you wanted them. Her father had taught her that every opponent had a weakness and you have to know it. Use it as an advantage. Claire was getting nowhere with simple jests, and she knew that she needed to up the ante. Her posture straightened and she let down her sword as his blade came to an abrupt halt near her arm, a smirk on her face. "2-2. You revealed your trump card, now I get to show mine. Serah, would you mind?"

The little girl pulled from the bag flung across her shoulders, and pulled out the red-leather bound notebook. Luna.

With that Claire said, "Final point. If I win, I get to keep your cute little notebook and do whatever I want with it. You win, you get it back and I will never say anything at all about it."

"Why do you want it so badly?"

"I don't. I just thought making you mad was fun. I'll probably toss it in a tote somewhere. It doesn't mean anything to me anyways."

"Argh!" Noctis yelled before Gladiolus began the match and Claire could even lifted her won weapon. He just wanted to wipe that smug expression from her face. Nothing. Luna's letters had been a light for him when he needed them. He wasn't just going to let some bully Princess push him around and take what belonged to his own personal belongings. He wouldn't let her trash precious years of memories in a tote. He hated that she was so sure of herself and he was going to make her eat her own words. Blue crystalline flashed as he warped at her, swinging hard and fast, waiting for the parry that never came. Instead he felt the distinct sensation of wood meeting flesh and suddenly crimson splattered the shiny dark marble.

Claire's scream echoed off the wall and Noctis went cold as he regained his sense of reality. The three bystanders rushing to the Princess who lay at his feet, her nose gushing blood. He felt his hands shaking and his knees felt wobbly as she held her hand over her nose, eyes watering and clenching shut in pain.

He dropped the wooden sword and tried to help her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry -"

Gladiolus shoved him back and picked up the girl, calmly consoling her and telling her he would take her to get help. Serah was crying too, following closely. Ignis stayed and turned to Noctis, a severe look about him, "I have to go make sure she's alright, Stay here. Don't move."

"I should go, too -"

"No, Noct, stay here!" Ignis snapped, before calmly readjusting himself, "Just...stay here, okay?"

With that he left Noctis was left alone. Not even Umbra stuck around. His eyes flicked to the place where Serah had stood.

The notebook lay abandoned on the stone floor.

ah, I read somewhere that Lightning had a mischievous side and you can fight me if you don't think she was a little shithead kid who wanted to fight everyone she thought looked like a challenge. I wasn't going to tear away all her childish charm until I virtually destroy her family. Yeah, that still happens. 'Fraid, I couldn't let our sweet baby Lightning stay this way forever. *sigh*

(forgive any mistakes I wrote this at 3:00 a.m.)

tumblr: aranea-hi-ghwind (send me memes and I'll send you pics of my cat, Prince Noctis.)