originallutece | (no subject)

[ Noctis does as he's told, closing his eyes and trying not to focus on the movement of the car. He's not sick, but his stomach hurts just a little. Maybe from the movement itself, but he takes a deep breath to keep himself steady. ]

Was pretty good.

[ His words are slurred, and there's the slightest hint of an accent much like Rosalind's own. They're from the same country, but Noctis' constant traveling and form of education left him without one naturally. Every once in a while, however, when he's around the right people, it comes out. ]

Thhh...Think I had too much.

Do you remember what you had?

[Not that it much matters, but she's curious. She smiles to hear that accent, though. It's just in his vowels right now, little drawn-out sounds that are barely noticeable, but that she picks up.]

[ Noctis inhales deeply, exhaling as his eyes open and he makes an honest effort to try and remember how much he had. He holds out his hand, brows furrowed as he counts them until he eventually gives up. Noctis snorts as he drops his hand. ]

Nope.

A lot though.

[ He turns his head to Rosalind, frowning. ]

I texted late... M'sorry.

Woulda... woulda' called Promoto, but--

[ Noctis hiccups, looking down at his knees. ]

He's got s...stuff goin' on.

It's all right. I'm glad you did call.

[But oh, Prompto . . . she doesn't know everything, of course, but she does know that his brother is around.]

Have you spoken to him lately?

[ Noctis starts to sink in his seat a bit, slumping. He covers his face with one hand as he leans against the door. Having to talk about him is fine, but he immediately starts to think about how Dante had called him out. Asking when they'll become an item. None of it makes sense and of course he's already been having weird thoughts as is. ]

Texting, yeah.

He's fine. I think. Don' wanna bother 'im...

I should think he'd welcome your company now more than ever.

[ Noctis moves his hand over his mouth; the telltale sign that he's uncomfortable. He turns his head and shrugs quietly. ]

Did he say something to you?

[ He shuffles in his seat a bit. ]

Nah, it's not--

[ God, he's still slurring and absolutely messy. Which is to say he has 0 filter and he's completely incapable of really keeping much to himself right now. But even so, he finds himself nervous and uncomfortable. In need of validation or someone to help get his thoughts together. Rosalind has always been the best for that. ]

Miss--

Doctor...

Can I um.

CannI tell you somethin'?

[She glances over at him again.]

Yes. Of course you can. What is it?

[ At this point, his eyes are closed again. Because he's starting to feel sick, and it's probably just his nerves. But he's never put words to his situation, and now there's way too much going on in his plastered head. Noctis sighs as he presses his face to the window.

There's a lot that keeps his words in his throat. He's not sure what, because it's not necessarily fear. If this is how he is, this is how he is. But still.

He has to at least thank the alcohol for making it easier to say. Because this has been on his mind a while. ]

I'm gay.

[ Not "I think" not "I might be", because he's at least sure of that much. ]

[Ah. It's not a surprise, not truly, because she's suspected it since that first night he'd come over to her apartment. But it's good to hear it from him.]

All right.

[That seems a lackluster response, but she simply means that that's all right.]

Are you all right with that?

M'okay with the fact.

Dunno what it means from here.

I don't know if it means anything, other than the fact you prefer men over women.

[ Not totally what he meant, but he's also very drunk and very bad at explaining things. Noctis feels his face burning very hot, and all it does is make him think about how Dante called him out.

About Prompto.

Which is terrifying in itself because they're best friends. And the guy clearly isn't into him. There's no chance, and he's not into his best friend that way. Right? Right?

Noctis starts to feel his morale completely take a nose dive, and he falls completely silent. ]

[Oh, dear. Well, they're nearly there, and so she doesn't say anything else, not until they pull into the parking lot.]

Noctis . . .

[She pauses, then sighs.]

Come on. We're going upstairs, all right?

[And then they can keep talking, and he can react in any way he likes.]

[ His brain is just... Not functioning like it normally does. It's very easy for him to start feeling off or awkward. Especially when he has no idea what's going on when he's sober. Either way, it's partly brushed off when the car parks.

Noctis opens the door himself. His body slings sideways, him trying to get himself out. But there's a clear struggle when his legs turn into noodles, and he can't seem to get up. ]

When did--

[ He's still buckled in. ]

Oh, hell--

[Thank god he doesn't fall out, but Rosalind is fairly brisk as she turns the car off and comes around to the other side. Carefully, her hands firm but not cruel, she stabilizes him and helps him to his feet.]

Almost there, Noctis. Just up the elevator and down the hall-- you can do that, yes?

[ He inhales sharply as he gets on his feet, arm back around Rosalind's shoulder as he wobbles himself upright. At the very least, his mood has shifted upwards again. Because he finds the fact that he can't stand rather amusing. Noctis weakly chuckles as he finally gets himself up. ]

Jus' up the elevator 'n down the hall.

[ He repeats. Accent much thicker that time around. ]

Mhmm. Lessgo.

[There's that accent, and despite herself, Rosalind smiles, amused by it.

Into the elevator and down the hall: he's more than willing to go where she leads, and so it's surprisingly easy to get him up to the sixth floor and into her apartment. Once she gets the door open, she steers him towards her couch, then heads off.

First to the kitchen, to get him two bottles of water; next to the bathroom, to retrieve a wastebasket.]

Drink. You're going to have a nasty hangover tomorrow regardless, but water will mitigate some of it.

[ Off-balance as he is, Noctis follows along without much difficulty. There are a few moments that he nearly falls over, but he seems to grab a wall quick enough. Last thing he wants to do is take Rosalind down with him.

They arrive at her apartment, and at least muscle memory had him kicking off his sneakers while they make way to the couch. He plops down, an audible sort of grunt following as he immediately spreads out and lays down on it. The room is spinning ridiculously fast, and he's definitely starting to feel sick. But the air in here is nice and cool, which is refreshing. Plus, Rosalind's home always smells so pleasant.

He looks over when she approaches with the supplies, slowly sitting up again as he takes the bottle with no argument. ]

I... I remember now.

[ He struggles to open the bottle of water, but eventually succeeeds. ]

I drank... 12 drinks.

[ Leaning back, he slowly starts to put the bottle of water to his mouth. But he still talks. ]

Don' assme what though.

[ Yup. Some of that water sure spilled on him before he got it into his mouth. ]

Oh, good grief . . .

[She doesn't mind the spilled water; it's the twelve drinks that has her sighing. Even if it was all beer, that's a lot. But ah . . . given what he'd told her tonight, perhaps that's not so surprising.]

I want you to drink both of those bottles. Understand?

[. . .]

Tell me what happened at the party.

[ While Noctis may be drunk out of his mind, he is by no means disrespectful or smart with Rosalind. There's a time and place for that, and at least he knows that much in this state. So, of course, he nods. ]

Yessum.

[ He takes a second to drink some of his water. And he was clearly thirsty, because there's some silence while he downs most of it. With a sigh, he lets it rest in his hands. Teeter-tottering back and forth, he doesn't realize he's leaning on Rosalind shoulder to shoulder. ]

Nothin' happened. Jus' think it might've been a lot. I'unno.

Prompto wasn't there, 'n I was mostly around Dante.

[ He shrugs. Noctis is going to be jumping to a lot of subjects to avoid the main event. Stay tuned. ]

[She shifts a little, adjusting herself so he can lean on her more comfortably. Once he finishes that second bottle, she'll have him lie down, but for now, this is enough.

Though that not-explanation makes her wonder . . . alcohol makes you do a lot of stupid things, and it's never a good thing when you consume a lot at a party.]

And what did you and Dante get up to?

[ So, this isn't gonna help. ]

Truth or dare.