Don't know how far I am into the story proper if I'm around chapter 6, but, on the plus side, there's finally a character tag for Iris on the site. Huzzah.

This story gon' get dirty, so fair warning has been given. I'll leave the rating at T for now, but change it when the time comes with an appropriate notice. Also, in consideration to character age, let's say everyone is about three or four years older than they are in-game. It'll be our little secret, yeah?

He should've guessed something was wrong when he touched the last runestone that would gain him Ramuh's favor. The rush of power had been exhilarating, reassuring even. He had another trump card in his ever-growing deck and he was ready to test it out, maybe on some Imperial rust buckets. The base over the horizon looked nice.

As he stepped away from the magical rock, however, was when he felt the itch at the back of his mind. He winced, shaking the fog out of his head as he felt something build in his chest. It pawed at his thoughts and tugged at his focus, but he managed to ignore it and force himself to take a deep breath.

...Still in control.

Noctis slowly opened his eyes and blinked, nodding to himself as he felt that whatever was coming over him had passed. "You good to go?"

He glanced over his shoulder at Gladiolus and nodded, idly manifesting his Engine Blade and spinning it artfully. "Yep. Let's get moving."

Noctis felt he had to give the Empire credit. Not only did they manage to royally piss him off by murdering one of the few people he felt he could trust, he could only hold himself back from smashing something when he saw the sorrow evident on Iris and Talcott's faces pretty much sealed the deal. It was then, he decided, that the Empire would get no credit. All they would receive was the brunt of his currently-unyielding rage. At the end of the day, however, he forced himself to take a deep breath. Pacing around (Ignis would say stomping) would only stress everyone out. So it was that he facefaulted onto one of the beds and forced himself to get some semblance of shuteye.

Morning came and promptly headbutted him when he was trying to work out the next move, looking out over the Lestallum alleyways from the hotel balcony as Gladio rattled out something or other about the plan for the day.

"It'll be a squeeze in the car, but just for a while."

Noctis found himself pulled back to reality when he heard that. "Wait, what?"

Gladio simply glanced at him like he'd grown a second head and repeated himself. "I said Iris would be coming along with us. That good with you?"

...Hmm. Logic dictated that no matter how awesome a driver he was (which was something he had convinced himself of), Gladio would absolutely not allow him into the driver's seat while Iris was in the car. And if Prompto was taking the passenger to take photos…

"Yeah, of course."

Damn. Noct pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. This was gonna be a rough little trip. He just hoped whatever was coming would be a bit easier to handle...at least for the morning.

Unfortunately, the gnawing sensation came back when he least expected it.

Put simply, he wasn't ready for what waited at the end of their little destruction tour in the Aracheole stronghold. He had just gotten through getting his ass handed to him by the MA-X, letting out a weak, amused little chuckle as he hit the ground hard. He assumed he heard Ignis calling out to him as he pondered, ...Is this the part where my life flashes before my eyes?

Balling his hand into a fist against the cracked and fragmented concrete, he heard the distinct sound of thunder piercing the air. What followed was dulled slightly as he felt himself lose consciousness momentarily as that damned feeling overwhelmed him, but, when he awoke, he was stunned silent at the aftermath of what he had inadvertently summoned. The once-impressive mech had been reduced to ash, fortress walls torn asunder, and equipment either burnt to a crisp or blown into countless pieces. He struggled to his feet and held himself up with a lance as he managed to take a good look at the cause of the destruction. The big, bearded...guy loomed over him for a moment, watching with what looked like genuine concern before his three friends made it over. With that, Ramuh smiled slightly and disappeared in a gentle flash of whites and purples. "Well, that was...impressive."

Noctis managed a smile at Ignis' remark, holding a hand to his side gingerly as he nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty shocked myself."

Gladiolus groaned, but Prompto tried to hold his laugh. "Really, Noct?"

"Yeah, that was awesome. I'm ec-static."

His second try was complemented by slap to the back of the head. "Ow- hey, that hurts!"

"That better have not been another joke."

Noct hid it behind his attempts at humor, but he just could not ignore that nagging feeling nor the heat slowly suffusing throughout his body. For now, he committed to grin and bear it. Retrieving the Regalia cheered him enough to enjoy the ride back to Lestallum. Their next step pretty much boiled down to grab Iris and high tail it to Cape Caem.

"...Hey. Who's that up there?"

Noctis followed Prompto's finger until he caught sight of the figure clad in red and black looking down upon them. "...Is that a spear?"

"No, Noct, that would be a lance."

Twenty minutes later.

"...My everything hurts."

"Wuss."

"Hey, she kicked your ass, too."

"I'll have you know that my ass is perfectly fine. Some cup noodles'll fix me up real good."

"Now you're just pullin' my leg."

"Maybe a bit."

"Let's find Iris and take the rest of the night off."

Luckily, the four wouldn't have to go far. Iris wandered out of the local town hotel and beamed happily when she caught sight of them.

The heat in his chest intensified when his sight fell on Iris. Sure, he had already come to terms with the fact that she was ten pounds of cute in a five pound bag, but he felt...off. He found that his sight was lingering on her for far longer than he deemed comfortable. Forcibly, he looked away, coughing awkwardly and stuffing his hands into his pockets as they approached.

Then she smiled at him and his felt his heart skip a beat or two. "You're back! Did you kick their asses?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Awesome. Did Prompto take any good pictures?"

"Sure hope so. Let's call it a night, head to Caem in the morning."

"Mind if I hang in your guys' room for a bit?"

Noctis blinked. Iris was leaning towards him, as if the answer she would actually pay attention to was his alone. Never mind that Gladio was glaring at him, because poor Noct wasn't sure what would even be the right answer if Big Brother was listening. So. He chose instead to take an awkward step back as Iris regarded him with what could best be described at Insomnia's best puppy-dog look. "I, er...don't see why not."

Well, that's a lie, I can see about six feet of "why not" right behind you…

"Also awesome! You guys go ahead, I've gotta get something first!"

Before anyone could question her, Iris ran off in the direction of the vegetable vendor. "...What's she getting?"

"No idea. Let's just rent a room."

Eight minutes later.

Turns out Iris was getting dinner from the diner. After the meal, the five simply sat and went over Prompto's photos while recalling the day's events.

"And I have no earthly idea as to why Prompto continues to take pictures of shrubs."

"Hey!...They're really nice. If you had the camera, you would know."

Iris, of course, was sitting on the bed next to Noctis. While he normally alternated between welcoming her company and allowing it with nothing more than a noncommittal grunt, he found himself growing increasingly uncomfortable. He pawed at his shirt a bit, taking a draft of soda to try and calm his nerves. Ever since he had called Ramuh earlier that evening, that feeling in his chest had slowly begun to bite at him. He felt warm, weirdly so, and it alarmed him when he felt it intensify upon seeing Iris.

"Noct? You okay?"

He could only manage looking her in the eye for a moment before turning away sheepishly. Her concern was touching, but sort of...disconcerting. Especially since she was apparently the centerpiece of...whatever this was.

"Yeah, just...need some air. Be right back."

He hopped off the bed and snatched up his jacket, ducking out of the room before Iris could grab his arm or something. That's what usually happened in those books he saw Luna reading once…

The night air greeted him with an expected chill, but Noct couldn't be bothered to even put on his jacket. The cold was the equivalent of a cold shower right about now, so he welcomed the breeze even if he felt a shiver coming on. "Noct?"

That voice...

Oh. of all the people-

Iris' hesitation was evident, given that she was still halfway between him and the door and by the look on her face that was torn between worry and shyness.

Okay, just keep it cool.

"Is it...another headache?"

Noct smiled slightly, almost shaking his head in denial before thinking quickly and using that as his excuse. "Yeah, uh...yeah. Not feelin' too hot, but I'll be fine."

He groaned inwardly at his choice at words, because he was feeling about the exact opposite of what he said. Iris' close proximity was bothering him more than he thought, a light blush flaring on his face as he felt her step closer. "You don't look too great. "

"I'm sure I'll be fine, Iris. You don't need to worry about me."

"Is that a cut? Why didn't you patch that up?"

"Hey, wait-!"

Noct found himself pressed against the balcony railing as Iris tried to push his hair apart enough to inspect the apparent wound. "Hmm...your magic already sealed it, but it might leave a scar."

"T-that's nice, but can you back up a bit…?"

The cold air was doing nothing now that Iris was in his face, and their proximity unfortunately made it very easy for him to feel her curves nuzzled against him. Iris seemed as oblivious as ever, more concerned about stopping them from falling off the balcony with how much the prince was squirming. "If you don't stand still I can't get a good look- whoah?!"

Predictably, one of them slipped, and it wasn't Noctis. He quickly braced on arm on the railing, throwing the other around Iris' waist as she fell heavily against him. It took her a moment for her mind to catch up with what just happened, but she managed to look up at him and mutter, "T-thanks."

"Uh-huh."

They were both blushing now, but Noct could tell she was simply embarrassed that she even fell while he was...sort of bothered. His mind was plagued by a bunch of things he never really knew he cared about until that moment, like her hair or her eyes or…

He had just realized he was eying her lips before he was suddenly kissing her.

Ahaah, cliffhanger.

It initially confounded me when I found out that Iris was 15. I'm all for fleshing out character details, but...why?

On another note, yes, I'm painting in broad strokes. I'm not a particularly great writer, but I do love the chemistry between Noct and Iris. From where I am, I haven't seen enough of Luna to really feel anything substantial. Maybe I'm just not paying a lot of attention.

Anyway! Hope this was worth your time.