"Long time no see," she says, her face unreadable. His eyes have trouble separating from hers long enough to take a seat opposite her. There are two couches by the fire, and she is sitting against the arm of one, with her legs on the cushion and her back to the flames. Her eyes are on the prince, Prompto, and Gladio. "I wondered if I'd see you come through here. When I heard about Insomnia, I was certain of it."
"Why's that?"
"Because one of the tombs you're looking for is at the bottom of the ruins nearby."
Ignis knows he shouldn't be surprised. Her research would bring her deep into those ruins, and likely into the tomb itself.
"Was what I heard correct? Did you create this place?"
"It started as home base for my own operations. I built a small house up in a tree to keep my things and conduct my research, but that quickly got old. I ordered parts from Insomnia and Lestallum so I could build a house for myself. Researchers who came to get updates on my progress would stay with me, and so I added on. Hunters started to do the same, and before I knew it we were building new houses and setting up new lights, traps, walls. The people here don't want to deal with the conflict between Insomnia and the Empire. They don't want to worry about anything but living happily and within their means. It's created a nice little commune." She scratches her nose the way he remembers. She feels awkward. "When I was sent out here, I didn't expect to see another soul for more than the few days each month I was checked up on. This is quite a nice alteration of fate."
Silence sits heavily between them for a moment, and she sips her drink. The thick scent of rum and sugar enters his nose, and he watches a drop of condensation roll down the glass. Flashes of sweat sliding down her face appear when he blinks.
"It seems like rather a nice place," he says finally. "And you seem well."
"I am," she says pensively. And what about you? She yearns to ask after him. Have you thought about me? She sees him cross his leg over the other and take another deep sip of his spiked coffee. She can smell the drink as he takes it from his lips. She asks the question, but only almost. "How are you? Insomnia can't have been easy."
"We're all coping," he barely answers. Her eyes find the cushion, and he watches her examine it through long eyelashes. "But I'm lucky to have the three of them with me."
She nods, biting her lip. The fire snaps behind her, coughing hot cinders into the air.
"It wasn't my choice," she says finally, turning to look him in the eye. His heart runs a marathon in his chest, "leaving, I mean. I wouldn't have—I would've said something."
"I see," he says simply, working as hard as he can not to betray any deeper emotion. She takes another drink and tries to continue.
"I got into some trouble with my research. Let a daemon loose in the Citadel basement. My superiors thought it best that I continue outside Insomnia's walls. My time out here was a much a punishment as it was an assignment. Until Insomnia fell, I was being tracked daily to ensure that I didn't try to leave a certain radius."
Conflicting emotions swirl in his chest. He watches her fingers toying with a necklace hanging at her breast. "I know we were never—it was never more than what it was, but I wanted to make sure you knew I didn't leave without saying anything by choice. I would've said something," she breaks eye contact and looks at her hands, "if I'd known."
"That's fine," his heart rises and falls simultaneously, "as you said, it was nothing serious."
She smiles, though her eyes are heavy. He is stiff as always. She used to tell him he was too uncomfortable with comfort. Part of her is happy that some things don't change. He pushes his glasses up and looks into her eyes again.
"So what have you been doing out here besides building a town?" He asks, some amusement in his eyes. Naya laughs lightly, sending shockwaves through his ears.
"Research, as always. I've been applying my anti-daemon research to the haven nearby. I figure, if a big glowing rock can stave off the Scourge, then there's something we can learn from it," her eyes grow heavier, "but so far it's been slow going. I've made some progress, but unfortunately I'm missing something important. I've deciphered the runes on the rocks, but I haven't been able to figure out what is imbuing them with power. For all their similarities, havens have a deeper energy and a different signature than the crystal. I've been working between the haven and the ruins to find a way to make that power portable."
"Sounds like you're making progress though, if you've been able to translate the runes," Ignis says, leaning forward onto his knees. "I was under the impression that we had nothing to compare them to to translate them."
"That's how I found the tomb at the bottom of that ruin. I recognized some of the rune signatures on the opening. The place only opens at nightfall. Deep inside, there's even more use of the same runes, and even in and around that tomb. I was able to correlate most of the designs and work from there to determine a translation that I'm sure is accurate. The runes on each haven are all different words for protection, repellant, healing, safety; I just haven't figured out how to activate them. Even after many hours of experimentation on daemonic substances, I'm finding it very difficult to translate what I've learned to something we can use."
Her eyes light up as they always used to when she talked about her work. Ignis continued digging, asking questions, suggesting solutions, and as usual she'd already thought of most of his points and counterpoints. Naya was thrilled to have someone who understood her work around again. Even as the fire in the fireplace died down, the light between them reignited. Hours pass and Naya realizes that almost no one is left in the bar when Criss clears her throat.
"Look, boss, it's about time you got some shuteye," she winks, "and I say that mostly because I want some shuteye."
Naya's eyes widen as she sees the room, and for the first time Ignis realizes that his friends left a long time ago. "They've turned in," Criss speaks before being asked, "told me to tell you to take your time catching up."
"Oh, I see," Ignis stiffens, and Naya frowns. He had relaxed during their conversation. She isn't ready to let him go, and he agrees. They hesitate for a moment as they gather themselves and stand.
"You know," Naya begins. She doesn't have to finish.
"Yes, let's." Ignis replies more fervently than he wants to. Naya's eyes widen for a moment and she waves to Criss as they step outside.
"It's this way," she continues, taking his hand. He can feel her pulse in her fingertips, and assumes she can feel his. Naya fumbles with her keys and opens the door hastily. A heady rush of air leaves the house, and Ignis is caught in the most potent form of her scent. He remembers it vividly from those nights all those years ago, where he would lose himself in her.
She locks the door and turns to him. There is no hesitation, the distance between them closes and their lips meet feverishly in the middle. The familiarity in their touch escapes neither of them, both are lost in the moment and in visions of the past. Everything rushes through them all at once, and for a moment nothing has changed, no time has passed, and they are as they were. He lifts her up and they make it to the living room rug, barely inside the house, before they can wait no longer.