[ His eyes remain shut a moment longer, both to appreciate his grief, and to savor her kiss to his hair, her fingers running through it. It's been awhile since he's thought about the details of that day so intimately, but it still hurts. Those wounds would probably never heal fully - the suffering he'd seen, as Noctis mourned the loss of his love while they kept moving by necessity. They shouldn't heal, really. He should never forget why it was so important that they keep fighting. ]

No, I...I'm okay.

[ He's the only person here who knows this story in its fullness now. It deserved to be shared, for the sake of the memory of his friends.

But it can't be the easiest thing to listen to, either, so he turns his head to kiss the inside of her wrist before he finally opens his eyes again, ready to go on. ]

...Things were pretty tense after that. [ He'd tried to keep the peace, but...it hadn't gone so well. ] We were headed to Gralea, the capital of the Empire after that, so Noct could get the rest of his arsenal and find Shiva, but...

[ This is where things get complicated, for him. ]

I sorta...dropped out of the picture for awhile. We...didn't meet back up until we all made it to the capital.

[ If he asks, he'll tell her what happened to him. But - gods, it's so much a story in itself. He's not worried about what she'll think of him - still a pleasantly thrilling realization - but...

He'll wait for her to start him down that path. ]