It started with a simple dice game.
And then it became something else entirely.
The Golden Hearth had grown louder, wilder, the warmth of spiced ale and the golden glow of lanterns making everything feel soft around the edges. Laughter rang through the stone-walled tavern, travelers and merchants swapping stories over mugs that never seemed to empty.
And we—the reckless, battle-worn fools that we were—had fallen right into it.
Alaria was already three drinks deep when she slammed her empty tankard onto the table, flashing a wolfish grin. "Alright, Noctis," she drawled, her emerald eyes bright with mischief. "You ready to lose again?"
I scoffed, tipping my chair back slightly. "I haven't lost once."
Lucian, leaning on one elbow, lazily rolling the dice between his fingers, smirked. "That's because she keeps cheating."
Alaria gasped, clutching her chest in mock offense. "How dare you accuse me of such vile treachery."
Callen snorted. "You literally have a loaded die."
She winked. "And you idiots keep letting me use it."
Lucian groaned, running a hand through his disheveled black hair. "I need another drink."
Gareth, ever the cautious one, had stopped drinking two rounds ago, choosing instead to watch the slow descent into chaos with thinly veiled amusement. "This is going to end terribly," he muttered.
And he was so, so right.
Because the moment the next round of drinks came—
Everything fell apart.
It happened so fast.
One moment, Alaria was sitting across from me, laughing, drunk off her ass, her fingers toying with the rim of her tankard.
And then, the next—
She leaned forward over the table, grabbed my face, and kissed me.
The world tilted.
Her lips were warm, soft, the taste of spiced honeywine still lingering on her breath. The tavern's heat, the haze of alcohol, the sound of dice clattering across the table—it all blurred for a fraction of a second.
Then—
She pulled back with a wicked grin, her emerald eyes glinting like she had just set something on fire.
And I—completely, utterly caught off guard—just blinked.
Lucian burst out laughing. "Oh, shit."
Callen slammed his hand on the table. "That was not part of the game!"
Alaria just shrugged, smirking. "Who said I was playing?"
Lucian, clearly enjoying the chaos, raised his tankard. "Alright, if we're just doing whatever we want now, then let's make it interesting."
Then, before anyone could stop her—
Alaria pivoted in her chair, turned to Lucian, and crashed her lips against his.
A collective gasp rippled through our group.
Lucian made a surprised noise at first, but then—the bastard leaned into it.
The table erupted.
"WHAT THE HELL." —Callen.
"ARE WE JUST DOING THIS NOW?" —Gareth.
"OH MY GODS." —Literally half the tavern.
But one voice cut through the madness louder than the rest.
Elaris.
"ALARIA."
The entire table froze.
I turned my head—and there she was.
Elaris was on her feet, fists clenched at her sides, her lavender eyes burning with absolute fury.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" she snapped, her voice cutting through the laughter, the drunken haze, the entire damn room.
Alaria pulled back from Lucian, looking utterly unbothered. "What?" she slurred, tilting her head with mock innocence.
Elaris turned on me next, her glare sharp enough to break stone. "And YOU. Why didn't you—?! You—you didn't even—!" She gestured wildly, words failing her in the sheer force of her rage.
I blinked, still trying to catch up. "Uh—?"
"YOU LET HER KISS YOU!"
Alaria grinned, wiping her thumb over her bottom lip. "And?"
Elaris whirled back to her, her lavender eyes flaring. "AND?! You—you kissed Noctis and then you just—you just—" she gestured to Lucian, "—jumped to him like it was some kind of—some kind of—GAME?!"
Lucian, still leaning back in his chair, utterly amused by all of this, just shrugged. "I didn't mind."
Elaris turned to him so fast he actually leaned back.
"OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T MIND!"
Lucian raised his hands. "To be fair, Noctis didn't push her away either."
I shot him a look. "Thanks, Lucian. That really helps."
Elaris let out an exasperated noise, her cheeks flushed—not just from anger, but from something else.
Alaria leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm, grinning like a damn fox. "Aww, Elaris, are you jealous?"
Elaris froze.
Alaria's smirk deepened.
The entire tavern was watching now.
I felt the tension shift, thick like storm-charged air, as Elaris's lips parted, her lavender eyes locked onto Alaria's, something unreadable in them.
Then, finally—
"YES!"
The entire inn exploded.
Shouts. Laughter. Even a few cheers from random travelers.
I nearly choked on my drink.
Lucian let out a sharp, raucous laugh, clapping me on the back. "Holy shit, I didn't expect her to say it!"
Alaria's grin stretched wider, her emerald eyes glinting with wicked delight. "Well, well, well. Look who finally admitted it."
Elaris flushed deeper, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLE!"
Alaria leaned back, smug. "And yet, here we are."
Elaris turned back to me, her eyes still burning. "And YOU—"
I held up my hands. "Look, Elaris, I didn't exactly—"
But before I could even explain myself, Alaria cut in again, grinning like she was having the time of her life.
"You know, Elaris," she mused, propping her feet up on the table. "If you wanted to kiss him so bad, you could've just done it first."
Silence.
Elaris's eyes widened.
I stiffened.
Lucian leaned forward, grinning. "Oh, she's got a point."
Callen, laughing so hard he had to grip the table, just nodded. "She really does, Elaris."
Elaris's face went redder than Alaria's hair.
"YOU—"
And then—
She grabbed me by the collar and kissed me.
The cheers from the tavern shook the damn walls.
And Alaria?
She just laughed and ordered another drink.
The tavern had turned into an uproar.
Cheers, whistles, laughter—all of it blended together into a single chaotic mess of sound as Elaris's lips crashed against mine. The warmth of the room, the haze of alcohol, the pounding in my chest—it all collided at once, sending my mind spinning.
Her hands gripped the front of my shirt, her breath heavy, desperate, as if she needed to prove something, as if this was her way of staking a claim. And maybe it was.
Because Alaria had pushed her.
Because Lucian had laughed.
Because I hadn't stopped it.
And now, here we were.
When she finally pulled away, her lavender eyes were wild, her breath uneven, her fingers still clutching my shirt like she wasn't sure whether to let go or drag me closer again.
The entire tavern erupted.
Lucian slammed his fist on the table, howling with laughter. "Now that's how you make a statement!"
Callen, half-drunk and choking on his ale, wheezed. "I don't even know what the hell is happening anymore!"
Gareth simply leaned back, shaking his head. "I knew this night was going to turn into a disaster."
Alaria, completely unbothered, swirled the last of her drink in her cup, watching Elaris with a sharp grin. "Damn," she mused, tilting her head, "didn't think you had it in you, princess."
Elaris whipped around so fast her hair swung over her shoulder, her face still flushed from the kiss, from the alcohol, from everything. "You shut up!"
Alaria just laughed, resting her chin on her palm. "Oh, don't get shy now. You just kissed him in front of the whole damn tavern."
A few drunken patrons raised their cups at that, joining in the ridiculousness. "Yeah, do it again!" someone shouted from another table.
Elaris's entire body stiffened.
Lucian, still grinning like an idiot, leaned toward me. "So, uh… I think that confirms it. She's into you."
I exhaled, running a hand through my hair, still trying to get my thoughts in order. "I don't think there was any question at this point."
Elaris whipped back to me, eyes burning. "You!" She pointed at me, but the frustration in her face didn't match the way her lips were still slightly parted, like she was still reeling from what she had just done. "Why didn't you—why didn't you say anything?!"
I blinked. "Say anything… about what?"
Alaria, laughing harder now, gestured toward me dramatically. "Oh, Noctis, you poor clueless fool."
Elaris let out an exasperated noise, her hands flying into her hair as she paced in circles, mumbling to herself. "I swear, you drive me insane! I—ugh, I should not have done that—"
"Too late," Lucian quipped, still clearly enjoying every second of this.
Alaria took a slow sip from her drink, smirking. "Don't worry, Elaris. If you regret it, I'll take him off your hands."
Elaris froze mid-step.
The fire in her eyes reignited instantly.
"You—!"
Alaria winked.
Lucian laughed so hard he nearly fell out of his chair.
Callen was slumped over the table, absolutely losing it.
Gareth, rubbing his temples, muttered, "Gods above, get me out of here."
I exhaled, leaning back, watching the absolute insanity unfold.
This night had gone so far off the rails I wasn't even sure how we got here.
But one thing was for certain—
I wasn't leaving this tavern without a damn headache.
The tavern blurred around me.
Laughter, clinking mugs, the warmth of bodies pressed too close together-it all faded into the background.
Because Elaris was on top of me, her hands gripping my collar, her breath hot with ale and something far more intoxicating than alcohol.
Her lavender eyes, usually so calm, so composed, were wild now, her pupils blown wide, her face flushed from both the drink and something deeper-something raw.
She kissed me again.
Harder this time.
The world tilted as her lips crashed against mine, her body pressing into me, her fingers curling tighter into my shirt like she needed to anchor herself-or maybe, like she was afraid l'd slip away if she let go.
A sharp pang of memory hit me.
Sundermere.
The night we had spent together in the quiet glow of the lantern-lit town. The way she had whispered my name in the dark, the way her hands had trembled when they traced over my scars, the way she had looked at me like I was something worth holding onto.
That same desperation was in her now.
And gods-I felt it too.
She kissed me again, and again, and I found myself losing control, my hands moving to her waist, gripping tighter as her weight pressed against me.
A soft, needy sound escaped her, something between a sigh and a whimper, and my entire body tensed.
Shit.
This was getting dangerous.
I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, or the fact that weeks of tension between us had finally snapped, or maybe both-but I could feel the shift between us, the heat curling into something dangerous and consuming.
"Elaris," | muttered against her lips, trying to steady my breath, but she just moved closer, straddling my lap, her hands tangling into my hair now, pulling me back into her.
I exhaled sharply, trying to clear my fogged mind, but then her lips brushed the edge of my jaw, and every rational thought I had left collapsed.
"Alright, that's enough!"
Alaria's voice cut through the haze like a blade, sharp and far too amused.
Elaris barely had time to react before Alaria grabbed her by the waist and yanked her off me, practically tossing her onto her feet.
"What the hell?!" Elaris slurred, half-drunk, half-mortified, entirely furious.
Alaria just grinned, smug as ever, as she leaned down toward me, hands on her hips. "Look, Noct, I'm all for watching you get some, but maybe not in the middle of the damn tavern."
Lucian choked on his drink, laughing so hard he nearly toppled out of his chair.
Callen wheezed, slamming his palm against the table. "Oh, gods, she was really about to-"
Gareth, rubbing his temples, muttered, "I am leaving this group."
Elaris, still flushed as hell, glared daggers at Alaria. "I wasn't-"
Alaria snorted. "Please. If I hadn't stopped you, you two would've been naked on this damn table."
Elaris made a sound that was somewhere between outrage and complete embarrassment, her entire face burning.
I exhaled, still trying to calm my heartbeat, running a hand down my face.
"You could've stopped us a little more gently."
Alaria shrugged, grinning. "Where's the fun in that?"
Lucian clapped me on the back, grinning like an idiot. "Well, that was entertaining as hell."
I shot him a look. "Shut up."
Alaria draped an arm over Elaris's shoulder, smirking as she led her toward the stairs. "Alright, lovebird, time for bed.
I'm putting you both in separate rooms before you do something you regret."
Elaris grumbled something incoherent, still murderously glaring at her.
I exhaled, running a hand through my hair, still feeling the lingering heat of where Elaris had been against me.
Lucian smirked, tilting his cup in my direction. "Hey, Noct?"
I sighed. "What?"
I sighed. "What?"
"You're totally screwed."
I groaned.
Because-yeah.
I really, really was.