originallutece | (no subject)

[ It's late. Very late, actually...

Noctis is normally the type to stay up rather late and sleep throughout part of the day, especially when he has no obligations pending. With the way the city has been the last week, he hasn't been able to have such a luxury.

Actually, he hasn't really been able to sleep at all. The times he has were born entirely of exhaustion and collapsing because of it. There's admittedly a lot on his mind-- The strange memories that keep happening one after another, the monsters traipsing the streets, the discoveries he'd found in that strange bunker. It's just that he never experienced anything like this at home, and while he's had plenty of conversations to talk it out, it hasn't necessarily made anything better.

But it helps. And one of the people who's facilitated that help? Noctis is currently dialing her number right now. Hoping she isn't asleep. ]

Noctis?

Is everything all right?

[Not the best thing to start a conversation with, but it's late and she's terribly on edge. He's not the only one who hasn't been sleeping; she's awake herself, curled up on the couch with a book and some tea.]

Ah, hey Doctor...

Yeah. Everything's fine, I just--

[ A pause. ]

I didn't wake you up, did I?

No. I've been staying up rather late these past few weeks.

[She does, admittedly, sound a bit sleepy, but no, he hadn't woken her up.]

Mm.

[ He sounds rather tired himself, but doesn't he always? There's an awkward rustling sound in the background, which is the sound of him shifting on his bed uncomfortably.

The apartment's empty; that's nothing new, but Prompto is usually there. Often times sleeping over on the couch. Not tonight. ]

Same here, actually.

[ He's so terrible at asking for company. Or even suggesting going anywhere. But Rosalind will be able to catch a very distinct, thoughtful hum. The difference here is that his voice is much deeper, that he's no longer the quiet child mulling over the best way to ask Miss Lutece if she's willing to spend time with him. Back when he was a kid, he was usually holding a book or a board game.

This time, he's a young man, tense in his room and incapable of admitting he's pretty lonely and could use some company. ]

[It takes her a few moments. It's been a decade, after all, and she's rather tired besides. But ah, and despite herself, she smiles faintly, amused that some things don't change.]

Do you want to come by, Noctis?

[It's not as if she's sleeping. They might as well pass the night together.]

[ He flinches ever so slightly, immediately embarrassed because that's what he wanted, but he didn't think it seemed obvious. ]

Uh.

It's... Not too late for that?

Edited 2017-08-12 06:09 (UTC)

Certainly not, not if I'm inviting you-- you've a car, don't you? I'll text you the address.

[ There's some silence, then a weak chuckle. ]

Good point.

Yeah, I can be over in a few minutes.

Good. I'm in 612.

[She does indeed text him the address. To no one's surprise, Rosalind lives in a fairly ritzy apartment building; her apartment proper is a large one, the walls scarlet and gold. It's meticulously neat-- oddly so, in fact. You'd think there'd be a book lying around, but no, Ros had made sure to hide that in her room. She loves Noctis dearly, but there isn't a soul alive who's allow to know Dr. Lutece likes books that aren't just scientific journals.

People sure are strange, aren't they.

In any case: it's a much more dressed down Rosalind who opens the door. She's got her hair down instead of pinned up, for starters, and though she's thrown on some clothes, they're casual things: a casual shirt and some jeans, more befitting a student than a professor.]

[ When Noctis wanders the halls of her apartment building, he isn't at all surprised with the style of it. He always took Rosalind to prefer the more elegant things in life. It's not at all intimidating to him, considering he lives in a modern-style penthouse.

He arrives at her door, and he almost doesn't recognize her with her hair down like that. Noctis has only really ever seen Rosalind in her prim and proper attire, her hair always pinned back and clean. Of course, he could easily mistake her for a classmate.

Noctis is wearing nothing special. All he'd really done was put on a pair of sweats and a beanie to shove his messy mane into, rather than brush it. It's too late for it, and he's too tired to care. Still, he looks briefly surprised by her look. ]

Hey.

Thanks for inviting me over so late.

You're welcome anytime, you know.

[She steps aside and locks the door behind him. It's the front room she leads them to, and the couch she so recently vacated. There's two mugs waiting for them on the coffee table. It's summer, but still Rosalind has made hot chocolate, because that's just the drink she makes when young distressed men come over to her apartment in the late evening, apparently.

Taking her mug, she settles in one corner.]

Do you want to talk about things, or distract ourselves?

You'd mentioned before. I figured now was a better time than ever to exercise the option.

[ Which is pretty telling to how stressed he still is. Noctis follows Rosalind inside and follows her to the front room. When he sees steam blowing over two mugs of hot chocolate, he can't help the little sleepy smile. It's little gestures like that which make Rosalind seem less intimidating than she might be at first glance.

It's a clear reminder of how things had been when he was younger. Noctis realized hours ago that he was in some need of nostalgia and the feeling of being home again.

He takes a seat, reaching for the mug. ]

Thanks.

[ Looking to Rosalind, he takes a moment in silence to mull over what he came for. His glance shifts to the mug. ]

Talking's enough of a distraction on its own.

[ A beat. ]

Hasn't gotten any easier for you either, huh?

No.

[She watches him carefully. He's got bags under his eyes, and she wonders just how much he's been sleeping these past few weeks.]

I don't care for mysteries like this. I don't care for danger like this, and even less so when we're all but being forced into it. The memories and idle changes were one thing, but this . . .

People are getting hurt. Superficial injuries, from what I've heard, but it's only a matter of time before something worse happens.

[ He takes a sip of his cocoa. It brings a good bit of comfort, and Noctis sighs to the feeling of warmth in his chest to it. He's extremely appreciative of the gesture on Rosalind's behalf; she was always good at making him feel better. Especially during the tougher sick-days Noctis had as a younger kid. Just with talking, really. ]

Not gonna lie, I felt pretty cool fighting off monsters. Wasn't good at it, but...

Yeah. I'm weirdly missing London.

[ Hence why he's here. ]

I barely made it. Prompto could've gotten killed if his head had been hit any harder.

I'm relieved you guys are all okay, but. This is a lot.

[God. It'll take a long while for the sight of Prompto, bloody and dazed, to leave her mind's eye.]

To say the least.

There's something to be said for normalcy. I never thought I'd be eager to teach undergraduates again, and yet here we are.

[She sips at her cocoa, then adds:]

How is he? I know he's off investigating the subway system, and I spoke to him recently, but.

[But you'd know better than me.]

[ He won't be able to get any of that day out of his head. Or anything that's happened in the last few weeks-- He's still having nightmares about that damned crystal for crying out loud. Rosalind's mention of normalcy brings a bittersweet kind of smile to his expression that fades quickly behind the rim of his mug. He takes another sip before responding.]

He's fine. The wound's scabbed over by now, so he's healing.

Honestly, I haven't been able to see him much since this all went down with the team situation.

[ Which he is extremely down about. ]

But he's safe.

[She pulls a slight face, sympathetic and tinged with her own disappointment, as he mentions he hasn't been able to see Prompto. Yes, she certainly can sympathize with that, can't she . . .?]

That's all that truly matters.

[She pauses, regarding him for a few seconds. Normalcy, she'd said. They both miss it, and yet they're lingering on the topic of Retrospec, on the monsters, on their fear for their friends. And it's not that they oughtn't, precisely, but . . . it seems better to think of other things.]

. . . tell me: what is it you two have been up to, beyond monsters?

[ Noctis sets down his cocoa on the coffee table for a second, settling back down on the couch and letting himself sink into it a bit. This couch is pretty comfortable. He sighs. ]

Man, stuff that's completely uninteresting in comparison to killing monsters. Almost nothing.

[ School hasn't started yet, he's been barely hanging out with other people and getting fully acclimated here. But it's all been video games, staying up late talking, and normal, boring crap young adults still almost fresh from high school do. ]

Started a gym membership to go with him. That got interrupted.

Ah, you did start that. Good.

[And it's silly, really, silly and stupid, the thought that comes to her next. But that's precisely what they need right now, and so:]

Go on. Flex for me.

[ Noctis wrinkles his nose, looking a bit embarrassed when Rosalind makes such a request. He awkwardly laughs a bit. ]

I've only gone twice.

[ Still, he does anyway. And that arm is just as scrawny and shapeless as it was before. ]

I'm thinking two more sessions.

[It's absolutely a noodle of an arm, but Ros smiles, so . . . worth it?]

Is that all it takes. Good, then you can start helping me lug around scientific equipment.

Hell, I could carry equipment in one arm and an entire desk over the other.

[ Clearly a joke, because this is the same guy who couldn't even drag the sword he found.

Noctis exhales, turning his head to stare up at the ceiling. His arms fall back to his sides. ]

If this ever mulls over, I'll keep trying. Pretty sure Prompto won't give me a choice anyway.

There are worse fates.

[She hides a yawn behind one hand as settles more fully on the couch, her legs stretching out.]

Besides: it's rather nice having something regular each week.

[ Noctis finds it a bit easier to relax as more time passes. He reaches over again for his cocoa, resting back against the couch and taking a sip. At her comment, he dwells on the routine with his friend. Weird as the last two sessions were for him, he didn't hate it.

So, he softly smiles, staring into his cup. ]

Yeah.

I'm okay with it.

Post Week 1 of the event, just before week 2

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