Chapter Text
Ardyn stood on the balcony of his Citadel suite, looking upon Insomnia below, still bustling despite the late hour. His two month old slung underneath his coat stirred only to snuggle closer to his chest. Their few belongings, mostly the baby's things, were all packed into his Armiger. Regis had recently had a string of late nights working, so Aulea would have forced him to go to sleep at a reasonable time, ensuring neither would bother him tonight. As for the Crownsguard, even if they were still watching his balcony at this point, he'd taken care not to reveal the extent of his abilities during his time here. He would be long gone before anyone could take notice.
There was nothing stopping him from warping into the night with Noctis.
A muscular tanned man leaned casually with his arms crossed against the wall next to the balcony door. His deep brown hair spilled over his shoulders in gentle waves, burning orange eyes watching Ardyn. Ifrit leaned casually against the wall next to the balcony door.
It hadn't taken much for Ardyn to realize Ifrit had taken a page out of Shiva's book in a sense and named himself Bryn while concealed in his human form. When Ardyn asked how the Messenger of his namesake was doing, he was rewarded with a glare. He didn't ask further, lest he give the Infernian ideas. As the Infernian's anchor to the human realm, Ardyn didn't particularly want to be dragged around Cleigne and Duscae to resurrect the remainder of Ifrit's Messengers, as the Astral had done with Phoenix.
"I had thought your choice made, Ardyn," the Astral-made-man said, a touch impatient. "Why do you hesitate?"
In a low voice as to not wake his child, Ardyn said, "Oh, give me a moment, will you?"
He could feel Bryn staring holes into the back of his head.
Ardyn sighed. "Have the gods made me so soft in giving me a child?" He touched the bundle against his chest. "Who am I to take him - them - away from those whose love they may yet remember."
"You would rather remain under Bahamut's control?" Bryn asked, trying to rile him to action.
"Of course not, you flaming ass." Ardyn turned to face Bryn. "But as long as long as Bahamut is not roused to stuff his snout into human affairs, then I have free reign, yes?"
Bryn raised his brows. "You have insisted the opposite these past months."
Ardyn waved him away. "Perhaps I've had a moment of clarity. To do what is best for Noctis. Although Regis is not quite as easily manipulated as Iedolas, he still has his faults-"
"Ardyn." Bryn uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. "What has changed?"
Ardyn gave him a weak glare and turned away. "I think I liked you better when Bahamut muzzled you."
"May I make a suggestion?"
"You've hardly stopped yourself before."
Bryn stepped up to the railing, catching Ardyn's gaze. "As for me, you need not justify your actions. I am hardly worthy of passing judgment. But I too care about the child's well-being. Regardless of divine or your own will, the present remains tied to past bonds."
"Care to speak plainly?"
Bryn begrudgingly obliged. "Wherever our Beloved goes, the Astrals must follow. Yet, you are the one who embraced the duty of raising him."
A part of Ardyn wanted to bite back that it was the gods who blessed him with this child, yet he couldn't bring himself while holding said child. He was the one, after all, who told Bahamut to his face that he had no intention of giving up Noct to anyone, Astral or otherwise.
He also wanted to ask how Noct was bound to the gods - every time he'd asked Ifrit to tell him if his child recalled his life as Noctis, the Astral would respond that only Noctis could know that. Until Noct was old enough to commune with the gods, the gods were exactly as ignorant as he.
In the end, it wasn't that Ardyn was jealous of the love he might remember, though he was, but that he feared him recalling the hate.
Turning away from Bryn and the chilly night, Ardyn went back inside.
"While what you say is compelling, Ardyn, we can't act on it without proof," Regis said.
Ardyn sat akimbo in the chair on the other side of the royal desk. "I helped start the Magitek Program myself, dear brother. Of course, I understand your reticence, all things considered. As I planned to revisit the labs myself, I was only wondering if you'd like me to fetch you something while I am out. As a courtesy."
Regis clasped his hands before him. "I can't have you go alone, you understand."
Ardyn sighed dramatically, "After I've gone through all the effort of acquiring you an heir? You do realize it will be so much more difficult for the both of us if I have to physically travel the distance."
With Aulea found unable to safely bear a child without risking her own and the unborn's lives, the choice to adopt their "niece" was obvious. Not that Ardyn hadn't resisted, but eventually the weight of his past memories won out.
"I would prefer someone who's already proven themselves."
"Yes, a lackey you've bound to your Armiger," Ardyn waved the notion away. "I suppose if you're funding the trip, I can endure the tedium, but you'll have to explain to little Noct why their father will be gone for several weeks."
Regis's head slumped into his hand, dropping the regal pretense. "You can't keep doing this, Ardyn."
"I see no reason why I can't speak freely in private, Regis," Ardyn's voice took a hard edge.
"Do you speak as freely in Nocturne's presence as well?"
"I will not lie to my child."
"And what will you do when she some day learns to speak? Our ears aren't the only a ones in the Citadel."
"Noct is a child. Children commonly call the man most common in their life their father."
Regis glared at him. Straightening up, he said, "We will speak again once I have chosen your associates. You're dismissed."
Ardyn stood and turned to leave with a flourish of his coat.
"Understand this, Regis," he said in a low voice. "I only remain here for Noct's benefit. The moment they might possibly come to harm, I will leave, and you will not be able to stop me. So take care in what you ask."
Noct looked to the door as soon as it opened and ran on their chubby little legs to collide with Ardyn's shin. Gripping his striped pant leg with both hands, they looked up with a huge grin and happy "ahs".
Ardyn sunk to his good knee and stroked Noct's shaggy hair. "Oh, how I missed you, little one. Though naught but a scant while, my heart did miss your glow."
"Is that from something?" Aulea rose to her feet, looking far too pristine to have been visiting the toddler long. This was made more obvious when he spotted the nanny tidying up.
"An old Solheimr poem, though I'm afraid I don't recall more than those few lines." Noct made grabby hands, and so he lifting them into his arms, rising to his feet.
Aulea smiled. "How did your meeting with Reggie go?"
"The usual nonsense," he said. "Though I'll have you know everything had been perfectly civil up to that point."
"Ardyn..." She sighed.
"It is not my fault he refuses to understand that I'm fully aware of what my-" Ardyn paused and forced himself to a calming breath, " -of what this child needs."
"And the both of you are stubborn mules when you set your minds to it." Aulea crossed her arms. Giving the nanny a nod, the woman left the room.
"Did he he clear your trip?"
"With an escort." Ardyn sat on the nearest armchair. "What started as a few hour excursion has now become a multi week expedition. While I can't tell you where, my destination was not built with accessibility in mind."
Noct patted his face.
"Yes, dove?"
They kissed him on the cheek.
"Oh, my apologies." Ardyn kissed them on both cheeks and forehead in return, eliciting a squealing giggle.
Noct then proceeded to wiggle out of his arms and scamper over to Aulea for another kiss. Pulling them onto her lap, she pressed her lips to their chubby cheek, triggering more giggles.
"It's probably safer for you this way," she said.
"I assure you that I am more resilient than those who only carry the blessing of their king. And should anything go wrong, I will be to blame." And all the crumbs of trust he'd cultivated with Regis will be swept away in an instant.
"If that were the case, I would vouch for you."
Ardyn sunk deeper into his seat. "Dear, you always see the best in those around you, but I'm afraid your husband does not do the same."
Ardyn awoke from his unmoving and dreamless sleep to a thrashing toddler next to him.
"Noct. I'm here." Gently he combed his fingers through their hair. "Oh, dear heart. I'm right here." They stilled under his touch, whimpers fading. Big blue eyes peered up.
Noct had nightmares no child should be able to have - dreams of darkness and grief. Ardyn could feel that much. Despite Noct being uninfected, Ardyn's Scourge became riled by the baby's distress and would only relax once Noct awoke. He supposed he was lucky they forgot their night terrors by morning.
"Do you want me to tell you a story, little one?"
Noct nodded.
"Their once was a young prince who went on a quest with his three closest friends..."
He wasn't sure if their empathetic bond was forged through some instinctual claim over Noct through his Scourge, from when Noctis threw them both back through time, or simply the awareness of having another linked to his magic. Since he'd never wed nor had children before now, he had no idea what such bonds normally felt like. He certainly wasn't about to ask Regis.
"...But the Prince did not know what to do because Bahamut forgot to tell him about his quest. Which was quite silly of him..."
While Nifelheim was quite a hostile place to consider raising a child, the Astrals themselves had saw to it that he'd have no choice but to desperately flee to the Citadel in the end.
"...So they all decided to drive to Lestallum to visit some friends there. Once they arrived, the Prince heard Titan call his name..."
The more Noct grew into their own person, the less influence the gods would have over them both. As soon as Noct was able, he would show them how to use the covenants to their advantage.
"...And being nearby, they paid Titan a visit. When they met him, he said that if the Prince could beat him in a fight, he would give the Prince his strength. Now Titan is very big and the Prince was very small, but with his sword and the aid of his friends, he did beat Titan. True to his word, Titan gave the Prince his strength..."
He petered off once their breathing evened out, the child curled into his side.
"Oh, Noctis." He continued to stroke their soft hair. "You have me wrapped around your little fingers and don't even know it."