[Noctis is quiet for a long moment after that, his own arms lifting subconsciously to hug back halfway through, just sort of helplessly indulging in it as he listens. Often he's still caught off guard by how... normal this familial relationship is, compared to the nightmare of conflict they become in their world. Moments like these are a painful reminder of what could have been, what they could have had, if their lives had gone just a little differently. It's bittersweet, cruel, but... he wouldn't trade this away, otherwise. This has become something precious to him.
When the moment finally passes, he mumbles,]
I don't need anything... you already gave me what I wanted.
[Family, companionship, choice- they've all been deep, quiet longings he's carried his whole life, wanted more of it when the little tidbits he'd gotten throughout it hadn't fed him enough. A dead family, not near enough friends, his life leading him by a tether instead of the other way around. Here he has so much more, and there's fulfillment to be found in both worlds but in this place it's different, and Ardyn's part of why it's good. That's what he wants.]
no subject
When the moment finally passes, he mumbles,]
I don't need anything... you already gave me what I wanted.
[Family, companionship, choice- they've all been deep, quiet longings he's carried his whole life, wanted more of it when the little tidbits he'd gotten throughout it hadn't fed him enough. A dead family, not near enough friends, his life leading him by a tether instead of the other way around. Here he has so much more, and there's fulfillment to be found in both worlds but in this place it's different, and Ardyn's part of why it's good. That's what he wants.]