fearlessly | THE PSL!!!!!!

THE PSL!!!!!!

[ this time, returning had not been easy.

it's certainly not the first time. from the temple and lunatia both, alisaie had returned to her home only to bounce back to both places, but each time had been a reset, a return to her "real life," to what she left behind, as if she had never left. she had no recollection of her time spent outside of this world, no memory of the events, or emotions, or people she had been leaving behind, and so ignorance had been bliss. she had remembered, of course, every time she returned, but it had hardly mattered then, once she was back.

this time, she remembers, and because of it there is a sense of.. finality. alisaie does not know how or why, but somehow, deep in her gut, she knows that she will not be returning to lunatia. it might be her natural cynicism, her realism that one day it would come to pass that she would arrive home and not return, and she may very well be wrong, but still she cannot help the feeling that it is over, that just as she had expected she is left to remember it all, to keenly feel the ache of her breaking heart.

prompto would have said that it would be worth it. he had said as much, in the past. he would say that having experienced love would be enough, that their time together, even if less than they both would want, would be better than nothing. she wants to agree, but in her heart she cannot convince herself, and instead there is only a quiet, private bitterness that she nurses in the deep hours of the night when she sleeps to the sound of the chilly wind over the dry sands of amh araeng. the desert suits her, arid and inhospitable and imbued with an old and powerful sense of longing and loss; mayhaps it was one of the many reasons she had been drawn here to begin with, when she first arrived on the shard. this wasteland at the ends of the earth, its very sands and stones infused with the ache of countless grieving hearts and angry ends, is a reflection of her soul. it always has been.

but still she works. that much is easy. there is always work to be done, and alisaie is more than happy to see to it, to bury herself in it, to distract herself from her anger and heartbreak because it has been several moons now, and she was right. it has all ended, and rather than prompto being erased from her heart and mind, she is left with the lingering memory of him in her mind's eye, on her skin, in her heart. he had promised, and where is he now? where is she? alone with her thoughts in this desolate wasteland.

would that he were here, if only so she could sock him right in the gut. ]

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[ No!!! He travels the world to find her, and she betrays him like this...as soon as the water begins to recede, goosebumps prickle up on his skin, and he snatches the nearby towel. Apparently, he's not so tired that he would rather be cold...

Jumping up and stepping out of the tub, he starts to dry himself off. ]

Alright, but I don't 'spose you've got a nice, warm pair of jimmy-jams I could wear, do you?

[ His clothes, though cleaner now, don't sound all that appealing when they're wet, and everything else he has in his pack is equally dirty... ]

[ just 1 hint of cold and he sure is moving fast isn't he!! it doesn't help that the desert nights are notoriously frigid.. ]

No, I expect you to sleep in these sopping wet clothes.

[ she says, flatly, one brow arched high, before she rolls her eyes and shakes out his damp clothing to hang it on a line behind her. ]

Yes, of course I have clean things for you to wear.

[ Look, he just got here, he didn't want to assume that she just has jimjams for him at the drop of a hat! Hopefully she has them nearby, however, because even as he towels himself dry, the cool night air starts to prick at his skin, and he is still very naked... ]

Great! 'Cause I'm ready to sleep and snuggle you into next week...as long as you don't have any objections, anyway.

[ He says with a light chuckle, while rubbing the towel through his hair, turning it into a damp, wild disaster. A far cry from his usually perfectly manicured hair. ]

[ i mean she doesn't have prompto specific clothing with his name embroidered into the undies or anything.. but people travel here often, and they are usually as filthy and tired as he is, so they must have a decent stock of clothing to draw from. prompto isn't particularly big, it shouldn't be difficult to find something to fit him. ]

.. I'm sure you are.

[ she says, gently, around a soft, almost private smile. it's been so long since they have been intimate, able to even hold one another.. ]

Dry yourself off, I shall fetch something for you.

[ and it isn't long before she's returning with a bundle of comfy clothes for him to wear. ]

[ Oh...what a fetching outfit she has for him!! :flushed: But he doesn't miss that soft, warm smile of hers. Much as they might have fallen right back into their usual routine without a thought, it isn't lost on either of them how tremendously special their reunion is, nor how long it has been since they've been able to simply hold one another. The thought of being able to do so again at last...it's exquisite.

With a gentle smile of his own, he takes the clothes from her and begins to tug them on — minus the boots, because it's bedtime! But it's a nice set of duds, loose enough to be comfy, and yet it's still got that sweet neckline Alisaie can appreciate. Soon enough he's dressed and stretching his arms above his head, his spine cracking in several places. ]

Oh, yeah, that's the ticket...do me a favor and never let me go that long without a bath again.

[ For both their sakes, tbh. ]

[ ah, he looks so handsome in eorzean garb!! much better than that hot topic mess he wore before tbh. look at all that man cleavage!! alisaie smiles, he is looking far more like the man she knows now that he is clean and dressed, even in foreign clothing with his hair all a mess. she always liked it better this way, anyway, all loose and fluffy and not looking like a chocobo's backside.

eyeing the slimy, filthy water as it drains - ]

Oh, you can be sure that I will not.

[ alisaie can tolerate much more stink than he can, but she has her limits, and he was pretty crusty. but now that he is no longer untouchable.. she slips one hand into his, to lead him away to the alcoves filled with cots and bunks. ]

Come, then.

[ bedtime at last. ]

[ At last...this is the bedtime to end all bedtime, a bedtime he has been looking forward to for months. Of all the things he missed about her, sleeping beside her was one he had missed the most. The nights in their time apart were long and cold and lonely, as he's certain they were for her, too. At least he had Pea to comfort him, while Alisaie had no such reassurance.

But now, now, all of that is behind them. They are together again, and he squeezes her hand in is as they make their way to the cots. It may not be glamorous, but he's slept on far worse, and anything would feel better than hard ground right now. ]

What d'you say we sleep...oh, six weeks or so?

[ Neither of them would last that long, but it sounds nice in theory, doesn't it? ]

[ the king bedtime, the bedtime prime, the only bedtime that will ever matter in their lives. incredible. alisaie is also bone tired, which makes bedtime a draw, and he certainly must be too. the bunks, like everything else here, are built for hard use and not for luxury, but the thin mattresses will serve him far better than the harsh sands would have, and the blankets, at least, are thick to ward off the night's desert chill. alisaie leads them into a tiny alcove only large enough to contain the bed with only a little standing room. ]

Now that just sounds like a tease, if you ask me.

[ she says, sitting at the edge of the bed and taking both of his hands now into hers. her voice is gentle. ]

Come now, get some rest.

[ She's never said sweeter words to him. They sound absolutely perfect in his ears. At last, a chance to rest...glamorous it may not be, but hell, he'd take the sand if it meant sleeping next to her. The bed is just a bonus.

Without a moment of hesitation, Prompto slips onto the bed next to her, leaning into her side, and bumping his nose to her own. Pea, who has been trotting along at their heels, hops up next to them, circling a few times before settling down in her customary spot at the foot of the bed.

Just like old times... ]

Hey...Alisaie?

[ prompto lays behind her, and pea as well, curling up comfortably at the foot of the bed, and all at once it is as if.. nothing has changed, no time has passed at all, everything between them is normal. the same. it is both comforting and eerie at once, like waking from a long sleep not knowing if the thoughts in your head are real, or the residue of the night's dream. for a moment all she can do is watch him in weary, muted wonder.

until he calls her name, and gods, she has missed the shape of that word in his mouth. alisaie, he says, as if he is only asking her what she would like for supper, or calling her to look at something on his phone. simple. easy. familiar. at last she pulls away her boots so she can lie beside him, curled on her side, the curtain sweeping closed behind her to enclose them in this safe and private little space.

fluttering her gaze up to his, alisaie meets his gaze, smiling softly. ]

Hm?

[ They fall back into their old patterns so easily, that it's remarkable that they have been separated for so long. But even if it had been longer, if it had been years instead of only months, their hearts would not have forgotten the shapes of one another, where they fit into each other's lives. For how complicated and unreal this all is, it is also...so very, very simple, at its core, and that's why Prompto knows he has nothing to worry about.

Leaning back onto his pillow and scooching close enough that he can brush her bangs from her eyes, he presses a soft, warm, lingering kiss to her mouth, the sensation sweet and fulfilling in ways he cannot even begin to describe. ]

I love you.

[ It's but a whisper, ushered in the private, warm space between them, a space that is so very, very good to occupy again at last. ]

[ at first she does not answer - she only closes the gap between them once more to kiss him again, moving her mouth over his slowly, with purpose. she can better appreciate it now that the feverish deluge of emotion has passed, now that they are cleaned and rested and comfortable, relaxed in their private little alcove. she can taste his mouth and feel his lips, remembering the familiar texture of them, the pressure, and just how easily they can kiss one another, as easy as breathing.

at last she draws away, but only just, close enough still that their lips brush with every word. slipping her arms over his shoulders and curling them around his neck, alisaie curls in close, touching her brow to his, slipping her fingers into the damp hair at the nape of his neck. ]

I love you, too.

[ she murmurs, and it is all she needs to say, the only thing that matters. her eyes close, and she hums low in her throat, her eyelids fluttering closed, pea's heavy head coming to rest against her ankles. ]

[ It's all either of them need to say, and in spite of how thrilled he is to be here at last, as much as he wants to cherish every moment that he can touch her and hold her, he is simply too exhausted to stay awake for much longer. The moment is too warm, too sweet, too perfect for that.

So instead, he just winds his arms securely around her, to keep her near even as they sleep, one leg swinging over her own to tangle them comfortably together.

It's only then that he lets himself begin to drift off to sleep, with the warmth and the scent of her all about him.

At last, he's kept his promise, and he can rest. ]

[ alisaie does not expect to sleep so deeply. this day has been long and emotional, she had thought she might lie awake staring at his face, listening to him breathe, but in the end she is too weary, and it is not long at all before alisaie falls into a deep sleep that she does not stir from until long after the rays of the morning sun have begun to creep in around the edges of the curtain. in fact, it isn't until the pesky light strikes her eyelids that she begins to rouse, her eyelids heavy as she blinks once, twice, and remembers.

a soft gasp parts her lips.

he is here. he is still here. the previous day had not been a simple fever dream, a wish on her mind, but reality, strong and present and true. he is before her eyes, half asleep, beautiful, perfect, just as she remembered, and pea is warm at her feet, just as solid, just as alive. ]

Good morning.

[ she murmurs, groggy, while her gaze moves over his face, over every shape and plane and freckle, and the words that come next are sudden, unbidden, spilling from her lips like a breath. ]

.. marry me.

[ It's the kind of sleep that pulls him in so deeply that by the time he starts to wake, it seems as though he's been asleep for weeks, and for how bone-tired he had been, he wouldn't be halfway surprised. There are few things he would rather do than sleep now that he's finally made it to his destination.

...But those few things demand he be awake, since the all involve Alisaie, and speaking of which, she's finally begun to stir, rousing him out of his half-awake stupor. He meets her gaze with a warm smile of his own, ready to answer her greeting, thrilled to be able to at last wake up next to her again. It feels so good, so right, so perfect.

...Of course, before he can respond, the last words he could have possibly expected from her tumble from her lips, and you can bet that sure as hell wakes him right up. Did he...could he possibly have heard that right? Is he still dreaming? He has to be dreaming. The last time he'd brought up the direction of their relationship, she hadn't wanted to pursue the conversation even remotely, and yet now, now she just...

His breath leaves him in a rush, eyes wide, as he sits up halfway, peering down at her from beneath a taut brow. Please hold... ]

Wh-wh...Ali —

[ His heart thunders in his chest, beating loud in his ears. Is this really happening? ]

...A-are you...are you sure?

[ he is not wrong. alisaie has resisted the advancement of their relationship at every turn, from the very first moment their attraction began, to the very end, before they left lunatia behind.

yet despite all odds, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary, despite how completely impossible it is.. he was right. somehow, in some way that she cannot even begin to understand, he is here, here, with her, pulled across time by the invisible yet indestructible thread that leads between their hearts. she had not believed it, that it would be possible, and yet here they are. here he is, and the night is passed, but he remains, he did not drift away like the sands on the wind, he was not a sweet, lovely dream while she slept. he was here, remains here, and at last she can perhaps begin to allow herself to believe that.. mayhaps they will never be separated, that he was right when he said that somehow, always, they will find one another.

but his clearly gobsmacked expression brings a grin to her face that she cannot suppress, and rather than answer right away alisaie leans forward, pressing tightly against him with her arms wound round his neck, and kisses him warm and good and deep right on his gross morning breath mouth. her breath is perfect ofc because she is an elf and elfs cannot stink. ]

Yes.

[ she murmurs, her mouth still curved in a smile against his lips. ]

You've no choice in the matter.

[ It's...kind of funny. For all the times that Prompto has daydreamed about this happening in his head — because he has, of course, daydreamed about this — in all the various ways he imagined it could possibly happen, if it ever did happen, it was always him doing the proposing. Down on one knee, ring in hand, with doves and chocobos and probably streamers and a shower of rose petals asking her to marry him. He's seen it a million times, at the Temple, in Lunatia, and now here, on the First, even as he journeyed to her. He had come to terms long ago that they night never marry, and he had made his peace with that, because even if it's something he has desperately wanted, he knew intimately how difficult being in this relationship had been for her. He knew how keenly her heart feels, and how absolutely devastated she would be if she lost not just a boyfriend, but...a husband, too.

But that hadn't stopped him from dreaming, from hoping, that one day...she might come around to the idea. That after he'd stuck around for long enough, she wouldn't be so afraid of losing him, and that she would open up to moving forward. But even in that possible eventuality, he had still imagined himself being the one to pop the question, to take that step.

And yet, here she is, telling him — no, not asking him — to marry her. Gods, his head is spinning at the mere thought, of being offered what he's dreamed of, so simply, so straightforward. His heart feels fit to burst.

Then she leans in to kiss him, in the sort of way that does not leave any room for doubt, and does not brook an argument. She would not have said those words if she didn't mean them, if she wasn't absolutely certain that it wasn't right. Alisaie has always dealt in absolutes.

His breath trembles as she mumbles against his lips, his grasp on her clothing tight between shaking fingers. This is...beyond surreal, and it should be a dream. But it isn't. It isn't.

At last, a chuckle tumbles from his lips, rubbing against the sound of a sob in his throat. ]

...Okay. Let's do it.

[ And then, his one smile blossoms against her own, as he blinks hard against the tears that prick at the corners of his eyes. Because of course he's gonna cry. ]

Let's...get married.

[ for all that prompto has dreamed of this, alisaie has dreaded it. she knew that one day, if they had stayed together long enough, the discussion of marriage and further would have inevitably cropped up. they had been together for a long while, their relationship only growing more and more deep and serious, it was only a matter of time before such a talk would arise. most days she had not thought of it, but when the consideration would creep in it would fill her heart with heavy dread and fear and worry. she had rejected him once, and it had been so painful to hurt him that way - how could she possibly do it again, when they had grown even more close?

but now that leaden, crushing weight has lifted from her heart. if he can find her here, he can find her anywhere, and she no longer has anything to fear. it still feels a little.. sudden, quick, and almost reckless - how can she think of getting married at a time like this, in a place like this, so far from home, with so much work to do?

it doesn't matter. she will continue doing what she is doing, prompto has never held her back in the past and he certainly will not here and now. they will work together, move forward together; marriage will not change anything at all. there is nothing to worry about. except, you know, the fact that she cannot even tell her own parents.. but that's a worry for future alisaie. ]

Let's get married.

[ she mimics, smiling brightly as her nose nuzzles alongside his own, a laugh bubbling up past her lips. but then she is reaching down, and winding her finger around a loose thread in the blanket, pulling it free so she can begin to twist it around his ring finger. ]

It is not much, but..

[ he'll just have to cherish it anyway!! ]

[ It's not much, but it's still perfect, and still takes him a few moments to process it fully, because of just how wonderful it is. It may be a simple thread, but it's so much more than that. It's a promise, a physical manifestation of the bonds that they've built between them, the bonds that somehow kept them together, even across and between worlds. Oh, how he wishes he could tell his friends, how he wishes they were here, but there's nothing that feels more right in this moment.

His thumb brushes over the thread around his finger, a breathless, disbelieving chuckle passing his lips. What a blushing bride he is...! But soon enough he's doing the same to her, pulling a thread from the blanket to tie around her ring finger, his hands trembling all the while until he completes the task and they lift to frame her face.

Maybe he never expected this moment to come to be like this, but nevertheless, it is exactly what it should be. Intimate, private, intensely personal. His heart is at peace. ]

It's perfect.

[ He murmurs, thumbs brushing over her cheekbones before he kisses her again, a deep, warm kiss, that he pours all the overflowing emotions in his heart into. They can get real rings later — this world is overflowing with people that could make them for them. What's on their fingers doesn't matter so much as the intent behind putting them on one another.

They're going to get married. ]

[ he responds in kind, until they both share matching, frayed little rings of string, and already the feel of it around her finger feels natural and right. alisaie has never been one for great formalities or frills and pomp, so rings like these suit her just fine, even if they.. may not necessarily stand up to the test of time. but that's all right. this moment, here, and now, they are all she could want and need.

prompto's mouth finds hers again and she giggles into the kiss, her arms around him tightening hard. she feels giddy, energized, happy deep, deep down in her soul and it tickles her core, making her feel light as air. she has kept him waiting for a long time, held him at bay, delayed the advancement of their relationship for as long as she could, but it was necessary, for now she feels.. at peace with it, she knew she needed to wait, to be sure.

and now she is. ]

Now I really should get up..

[ she mumbles, still smiling against his mouth. ]

I've responsibilities to see to..

[ Yeah, she's making a real strong case here, clearly she is just aching to get to work, rather than snuggle in bed with him and while away the day. It's not that her work isn't tremendously important, but it's not every day you get engaged to be married. In fact, it's often only one day in an entire lifetime, and even if nothing has really changed between them, it still somehow has, on a profound and fundamental level.

Sometime soon, he'll be able to call her his wife. He's longed for that privilege for an embarrassingly long time now, but that it can soon become reality...well, she's not the only one feeling lighter than air. ]

D'you? Sure they can't wait just a teensy, little bit longer?

[ He mumbles back, his mouth curled into a smile that is sure to last for days on end, as he punctuates the words with little warm kisses, drawing out his sentence as if to drive his point home. ]

We still have so much catching up to do...

[ She can take a day off! Call in sick!! She's earned it... ]

[ alisaie does not call in sick!! not in this job.. not even to celebrate her engagement. but she is, at least, hesitating a little, which is quite a lot for her to give tbh. ]

Just a little longer..

[ she concedes, nudging her nose to his own. ]

But not too long. I've already slept later than I should have.

[ Once she gets up, he invariably will too, even if he's still bone-tired from his journey. He's never been much of a layabout himself, and if she isn't going to take time off to celebrate, then neither will he! He'll just have to enjoy making eyes at her any chance he gets, and thumbing over the tiny piece of thread adorning his finger, to impress upon himself again and again and again that Alisaie asked him to marry her.

...Or, well, didn't ask, so much as demand, but hey, he's easy.

Anyway, it's...probably a bad idea to try to get too frisky with nothing but a curtain separating them from all her friends and coworkers, and you know how Prompto gets about privacy when they're getting busy...no matter how much he might want to go to bone town right now!! They've waited three months, they can wait a little longer, and it'll be all the better, now that they have such an occasion to celebrate. For now, he only takes her face between his hands and kisses her, slowly and sweetly, those sorts of kisses that are long and lazy, where he counts her teeth with his tongue, and nibbles her ear, and inhales the scent of her sweet skin. To think that he'll soon be able to call her, his beautiful, brave, unyielding knight, his wife is baffling. This girl he met literal years ago now, when she turned into a pink chocobo. They've come so very far together.

At last, they are moving forward, and there is still so much to figure out, but that first step is the most important one.

Finally he draws away, one finger gliding over her collar bone, gazing into her eyes with a gentle fondness. ]

Well, go on, then, what're we doing today?

[ i mean, alisaie definitely has a public kink, but that only really applies to strangers watching their exhibitionist escapades, not her friends and colleagues. if they were caught she would never be able to show her face in the inn at journey's head ever again. or amh araeng. maybe all of norvrandt, tbh. her mortification would be powerful enough to punt her right back into her body on the source.

so, no friskiness for them, no matter how much they might both want to celebrate their new engagement with some hanky panky.. heheh..

anyway, those are good kisses, nice and slow and deep, her favorite kind; he's making a very strong argument for just staying in bed, and alisaie is far weaker to his wiles in this moment, after so long without him. but she must stay strong. ]

I suppose we should make preparations to travel to the Crystarium. The others should know you are here, and the Exarch will no doubt want to know every detail of your arrival. The Scions, as well.

[ they've been working hard to find a way to return home, after all, and that prompto has arrived here across the fabric of spacetime is no small feat. mayhaps there is some wisdom to be gleaned by the method of his arrival, some small clue that might help them back to the source. ]

[ That's right...he had considered this before, but not since his arrival here. His arrival, much as he might have promised to follow her wherever she went, was not necessarily executed by his will alone. And Alisaie and the others were still stuck here, in a world beyond their own, and from the sound of it, without a means to return. Perhaps there is something useful they can learn from his arrival. He only hopes that he can be helpful, and provide answers that will grant them some insight to their own plight.

So he nods, sitting up, though he doesn't yet slip out from underneath the blankets. It's so nice and warm in here... ]

Alrighty! I'll tell 'em everything I can. [ A pause, as a thought occurs to him. ] Hey, Alisaie...do they remember? I mean, the ones of them that were in Lunatia with us?

[ Alphinaud, Urianger and the Exarch had been for a time, after all, and while Prompto had met them only briefly, if they did remember meeting him there, that might make things a bit easier. Maybe more with the engagement than anything else...Alisaie isn't the type to marry a man she just met, after all. ]

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