Note de l'auteur

Believe me when I say that this year, 2016 in particular, sucked dick. I can't wait for it to be over.

Also, guys, I said that I wouldn't warn again about it but please… mind the rating for the future.

Gosh this year may have been bad but there were still so many people to love and adore and are just uber awesome since birth! First and most important of all; a thousand love and kisses for Relear, whom I initially going to dedicated this chapter to. With that, a million thanks to loveiscosmicsin and ohmaigod10. Mucho besos para Laura, te amo para siempre! Also, love for The Punch Lord because every day I still talk to you and you're still awesome forever and ever. Hugs and kisses to aranea-hi-wind who, along with owning the pen name of the coolest lady in FFXV, is someone adore and look up to because her writing is sublime and she's a lovely QUEEN of owning my heart.

Thank you guys. Without you, I would have crashed and burned.

…like the dawn that breaks over the horizon…

"I-I can't believe it." Noctis wouldn't have thought he would live to see the day Lightning was completely shocked and her expression unguarded, to the point that she stuttered. "What – how are you all in Lucis?" The soldier's viridian eyes landed on her younger sister, whose rosy smile was a sight Lightning sorely missed.

"We came on a surprise visit." Serah Farron spoke as sweetly as ever.

"And if we knew this was the kind of place you've been loitering about, we would have bothered to come sooner!" Sazh whistled as he eyed the rather plain room they were occupying.

'Rather plain,' for the Caelum standards that is. It was still fancier than anything Lightning was used to back home.

Lightning remained motionless for quite a moment, still incredulous at the fact that her mismatched family was so close to her, while it seemed unlikely for them to ever see her here before her year-based mission was over. "When did you guys even get here? How?!" She was struck stupid by the situation, seeing her closest friends and relatives on a random day in the heart of Insomnia was the last thing she expected.

"It's my fault, really." Noctis had been, up until this point, entirely forgotten until he spoke.

The group simultaneously looked towards him, as if, they too, were seeing him for the first time.

Lightning didn't know how to react, and the only thing she could grasp and understand in the whirl of emotions coursing through her was confusion so she frowned. "You?"

Noctis held her gaze. "Long story." He gave her a look that told her he'll explain everything later.

Serah happily seemed to explain, if only the half of story. "You should have seen my face when General Amodar called me and told us about a royal invitation!"

"Aye, and you should've heard the noise Vanille made when I broke the news to her. Like nothing human." Fang teased the other Oerbian sister, who blushed pink under everyone's laughter.

Except Lightning, who hadn't broken eye contact with Noct yet. "When did you even manage to arrange this?"

"C'mon Light, does it even matter? We're here!" Fang broke in with a grin of her own before he could answer. "And are yer gonna interrogate him all day or officially introduce the very crown prince to us?"

Tentatively Lightning tore her eyes away from Noctis to look at her closest relatives, who were eagerly awaiting to form an acquaintance with the king-to-be. "I guess now you've met Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, son of King Regis Lucis Caelum, and the Lucii heir apparent."

"That's quite a mouthful." The silver-haired boy was heard saying.

Noctis chuckled. "The official title is actually longer, filled with suffixes and add-ons."

"Oh, forgive me then, your majesty." Sazh made an awkward yet exaggerated bow. "I am Sazh of the Katzroy family, first pilot but a full time concerned father."

"Please," Noctis shrugged the formal title out of the way. "Your majesty is reserved for my father. I'm just Noct."

"Alright, just Noct," Sazh grinned his best dad joke, having absolutely no trouble calling the prince so familiarly. "That over there is just Dajh, my son. Dajh, say hello to the prince of Lucis."

The ten year old was still small for his age and he was perked right on top of Snow's broad shoulders. He waved his short arms to gain the attention. "Hello!" He squealed politely. "Are you really a prince?"

Noctis gave him a brilliant smile and nodded. "I am."

Dajh scrutinized him as carefully as he could. "You don't look like a prince."

"Oh yeah? What do princes actually look like?"

Dajh didn't seem to know either. He scratched his head and pointed to all of Noct's flaws. "Uuuum, a prince has a cape, right? And a Mesmenir and a sword? And white clothes?"

When had been the last time that the little boy has seen a prince, the middle ages? Still, Noctis eyed his own black attire. "White isn't really my color. I can't really ride horses, but I can ride a chocobo. Capes have been out of fashion for a very long time."

Dajh cocked his head. "What about the sword?"

Prince Caelum winked at the little boy. "I'll show you some time."

"Oh, cool!" The little Katzroy breathed, awed. "You should still get a cape, or a really long coat like Snow has!" The boy tapped the man's head whose shoulders he was seated on.

Feeling it was his cue to get the attention of the entire room, the blond rose to his towering height with Dajh still on top of him. "Snow's the name," Villiers pointed to himself with his thumb. "Being a hero is my fame and playing it cool is my game! What's up?!"

Well. He made an impression, that's for sure. Noctis gaped at him for a moment, admiring the height of the man that could easily rival Gladio's and a buoyancy that could match Prompto's, despite his odd look overall. Noctis was actually taken aback by the guy's excited and upbeat attitude. Judging by the bandana nearly covering half his face and the long trench coat, he seemed shadier and quiet than anything else. But his grin was friendly and his blue eyes twinkled happily. Noctis honestly didn't even know what to make of him.

Lightning did, however. She was pinching the bridge of her nose and Noct couldn't tell if she was either embarrassed or annoyed. Probably both.

"And this is, clearly, Snow Villiers." She said with a sigh. "Self-proclaimed hero. If we had a village's idiot, then Snow would be it."

"Aw, sis, you wound me so!" He dramatically clutched his heart and begun swaying on his feet that had Dajh who still sat upon his shoulder squealing in delight.

A particular descriptive word Snow dropped made Noctis raise an eyebrow. "Sis?" He looked at Lightning. "He's your brother?" He didn't know she had a brother at all, and especially one of this size. And besides, Snow looked nothing like Lightning.

"Yep, I am her brother!" Snow shouted gleefully, looking unapologetic about being so loud too.

"Ugh." Lightning cringed, rolling her eyes.

Ignoring her groan, Snow's grin was wide and ecstatic. "I just happened to have married her most beautiful, smartest, sweetest, most angelic, gorgeous, fantastic, sexiest–"

"Sister." Lightning ended his infinitive praising before he would get to the point. "He married my sister, Serah."

Her sister came forth from her husband's shadow and Noctis couldn't doubt the relation. Their family resemblance was unmistakable. Serah was shorter of height than Lightning to be sure, but their hair color, symmetry of face, cheekbones and shape of mouth was exactly the same. The life of a soldier was an occupation only Lightning seemed to live by, for her younger sister looked much too sweet and dainty by comparison. They were like two sides of a single coin, opposite like the sun was from the moon, where one wasn't the same as the other, but they still were completely alike.

"I'm Serah," She introduced herself again, voice as soft as a feather. "Serah Farron-Villiers, now actually. It really is a great honor to meet you, er, your highness." She walked from her husband and sister's side to politely shake the prince's hand.

A flash memory passed through Noctis's mind, with how he met Lightning, and how utterly different the two were. "I promise you, Mrs. Farron-Villiers, it's an honor to meet you too." This was the sister that made the enigmatic Lightning emotional through the phone when he overheard her during Christmas. This was the sibling who held so much sway over Lightning's feelings that it managed to crack her hard outer shell that had always made her seem like she was made out of stone. It was truly an honor to meet the one person who held so much power.

"Aw, sis." Snow smirked towards the royal prince without a care in the world.

Lightning sighed. "Do you have to call me that every time?" Her voice didn't suggest that she was angry, but she was more than used to giving Snow a hard time.

"No need to be so dismissive, Light." Fang pointed out from the table. "He married your sister years ago, meaning he is your brother."

The oldest rosette Farron slanted the blond giant a look. "Only by law."

Sazh took this opportunity to tease her instead. "Don't be like that, soldier. Before you know it you'll be called Auntie Lighty by little trench coated toddlers."

Whatever joke Sazh was trying to make, it fell flat on Lightning's ears the moment he suggested something about children. "What, are you pregnant?!" Was the appalled question Lightning shot at her sister before she full out glared at the blond Villiers. "I'm going to kill you!"

"A joke!" Sazh was forced to say, lest Lightning was already reaching for Blazefire Sabre. "It was just a joke."

Lightning scowled. "It wasn't funny."

Serah felt the need to hush her sister. "I'm not pregnant."

"Look what you did!" Sazh was pointing at Snow's horrid face, laughing all the while. "You'll scare Prince Caelum with that grumpiness, Light."

"I'm actually already used to that." Noctis and Sazh grinned together. "But please, just call me Noct. No need for any formal titles to address me."

"Will do, Nocty." Fang's grin was wolfish.

"Don't mind her. Fang has an appetite to give everyone a nickname." Vanille spoke her first coherent sentence since arriving at the Caelum castle. "You just earned yours." Although the dusty red hadn't completely faded from her face, she managed to sober up quickly. Both Fang and Vanille were never the shy and quiet types, anyway.

Noctis really didn't mind. He found their approachable and optimistic attitude refreshing to treat him as if they were lifelong friends already. "Sure." He shrugged with a smile. "Went through a lot of nicknames, but Nocty is a new one for me."

Lightning was long since used to her Pulsian friends' antics. "I see you met Fang."

Said woman pointed to herself. "Oerba Yun Fang, and this here is Oerba Dia Vanille."

Vanille was unable to say another word for she was blushing a color as vivid as her hair. "H-hi."

"Don't mind Vanille," Fang mock whispered behind her hand. "She just has this tiny crush on you."

"Fang!" Vanille squeaked embarrassed, becoming even redder if it were possible.

Noctis felt his own face heating up. Being seen as an idol wasn't something unfamiliar to him. It could still be somewhat awkward to hear girls fawn over him, unless he played it cool. He chuckled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

Sazh laughed at Vanille's expense. "Don't let it grow too serious, kid, or Hope might get jealous."

Hope blushed at that as well, waving away Sazh's words while trying to keep his composure. It wasn't working for him very well with how pink his cheeks were.

The silver haired teen was the closest to Lightning. "And then this young man here is Hope Estheim, my little protégé." Lightning said with a new kind of smile Noctis had never seen before.

Hope threw the prince a nod, but spoke to the Sergeant instead. "Not so little anymore. Honor student, too much brain, too little street cred, but found myself sooner in academics rather than swordsmanship, but school is and will forevermore, remain a bitch."

Noctis shook the boy's hand. "Got a friend who's the same. Keep to it, I'm sure you're going places."

"He's just a little… What's the word again?" Fang asked with a teasing smile, snapping her fingers. "Ah, a nerd."

Beneath Hope's silver hair it was easy to see the blood rushing to his cheeks. "You're making me look bad in front of a royalty."

"And here I was worried about your image of me instead. It's truly a pleasure to meet all of you." Noctis said politely like the prince he was, but the stiff manner was quickly broken by one of his boyish grins. "Now who's hungry?"

"Hell yeah!" Snow pumped excitedly with his wife by his side. "We getting a royal buffet?"

"I'm only starving." Sazh followed with a comment. "Flying first class or not, airship food is and will forever remain horrible."

"I'm sure we've got something better, then." Noctis nodded for them to follow him out and headed towards one of the dining halls. The gang went after him, with much more noise and laughter than the castle has seen in months.

"How does that even make sense?" Fang questioned the man with the afro on his previous statement. "You're a pilot! You should be used to airship food."

"And because I am a pilot, I know exactly that it sucks."

"Well, I liked it." Snow responded with a raise of his shoulders.

"Yeah, but you eat anything." Vanille chirped merrily. "You're like a garbage can, really."

Snow made a stupid face at her. "Hey!"

Serah laughed besides the blond giant. "She's right, though."

Snow made an offended sound but quickly followed with a boisterous laugh of his own. "Okay, true enough."

The way over towards dinner took longer than what was necessary, considering most of the group oooh'ed and aaaah'ed at many of the paintings they passed on their way, or the ornaments that lingered in some corners here and there. Most of the Cocoonian gang asked questions about a particular monarch whose painting they now stood in front and Noctis amiably explained who it was they were staring at, and how many great-great somethings ago related they were to him.

Lightning kept behind them, having seen the paintings and such a thousand times and more by now, and just lately heard some of the histories from Noctis himself. She would quietly follow behind them, simply enjoying the sight of her odd mixed family in the Caelum castle, a vision she never thought to see.

Hope Estheim was the only one who lingered behind with her, matching his slow steps with her until there was a short distance that separated the two of them from the rest of the group.

Lightning glanced at Hope, who clearly stayed with her just to talk to her. "So, tell me, how is it working for Prince Caelum?" He asked in a voice much heavier than when he was fourteen.

The soldier looked at the back of Noctis's head as he continued conversing with the others up head. A warm feeling settling in her chest and to counter that, she crossed her arm. "It has its ups and downs."

Hope seemed to smile quietly besides her. "More ups than downs lately, I'm sure." At this, Lightning looked down her nose at him. "Or else why would we be here?"

The notion made something bubble inside of her. "Suppose so."

"Vanille told me you thought him annoying."

Lightning wrinkled her nose, remembering her opinion of the prince she harbored those seven months ago when she first met him. "I did."

"But you like him now?" Hope seemed to be digging after something as he gave her a look of anticipation.

Lightning slid her gaze to him, hesitating with answering before she searched to find the back of the man who they were talking of. She never would have believed that she would ever warm up to Prince Caelum, seeing how rocky their start was. She once believed that if she were to leave Lucis and the prince behind from one day to the next and never heard of him again, she wouldn't bat an eyelash. But that wouldn't be true. Not anymore, at least. Now, at this encompass of feelings shifting within her in regards to Noctis, she wasn't so sure if that'll be so easy.

She couldn't keep Hope's stare and glanced at the ground instead, nodding. "I guess."

Hope rubbed his chin. "To be fair, I used to be annoying to you too." He pointed out, as if the two cases could be comparable. "And you like me now."

She bumped his shoulder with hers. "Who says I like you now?" She teased, smiling when he turned big silver eyes on her.

They were distracted by the loud gasp of the group being astonished by the sights around them.

Snow stared agape at the giant paintings of dead Caelum queens of the past. Whistling when one only grew bigger after the other. Sazh asked whether every new generation of queens wanted to outshine the previous one by competing with the sizes of their portraits.

Noctis was still leading them to the dinner hall as they passed through the dim corridors of his home. Much like any newcomer to the place, they were struck by the grandeur of it all and undoubtedly even they were fascinated by the rich history of Noctis's family line.

"Competition may have had a hand in their intentions," The prince answered to their inquiry of paintings. "But what they were really going for was making their name known to all future heirs that come after them. The bigger the portraits, the more eye-catching they are I suppose, making people wonder who they are, what they did in their lifetime, etcetera. They'll be remembered and spoken of for centuries on end, which is what they ultimately wanted. To not be forgotten."

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Vanille gasped. No doubt the two from Gran Pulse agreed. Without leaving a mark behind, humanity would forget they ever existed. That was what happened with Oerba after all. Vanille hugged Fang's arm. "We should have a painting of our own, so no one would forget us, and all the deed we did!"

Fang hummed in agreement and Snow already started striking poses on how he wanted to eternalized on canvas. "Somehow I doubt they'd paint us commoners among the great Lucii kings of old."

Serah wondered about something alike. "Did all your monarch marry some noble-blooded lord or lady? Or were all consorts of a prestigious family before they ascended the throne?" Lightning's much brighter sister asked as they studied every other likeness of some monarchs of previous centuries.

"Once or twice a sovereign married someone of lower birth, as they'd call it, in times when bloodlines were still a big deal to people. There hasn't been such a union since Lady Vivi."

Lady Vivi, they wondered and questioned. Who she was and where she came from, and which king had married her. "Does Lady Vivi have a painting of herself somewhere hanging here too?"

"No, not really. She was queen for a short period of time. She married King Locke suddenly out of nowhere. No one basically knew who she was and she wasn't remembered very warmly either. I think that it's because of her that since then monarchs were married to those of more noble birth." The prince explained as if he was a tour guide at a museum. "And please don't think I mind. I'm just as curious about Cocoon as you guys must be about Lucis."

"Oh?" Sazh scratched his chin. "Light didn't tell you anything about Cocoon?"

Noctis turned to look at Lightning and the soldier only crossed her arms, not meeting his eyes for that. She knew she had been quite closed off about her personal life and home. She hadn't even told him that she had a sister herself.

But Noctis only shook his head, a sheepish chuckle escaping him. "No, but that's my fault, really. I didn't want to invade her privacy and bother her, so I never asked."

Lightning flicked her eyes at him after his response, and she felt an urge to blush when everyone's attention was on her. "You can just ask if you want to know." She murmured, but she knew he took the blame on that one for her expense.

She hasn't been too keen about opening up about herself to him. A notion she promised to rectify in the future.

Having finally reached the dinner hall, Noctis swung the golden double door entry wide with much more enthusiasm than necessary. Of course, the new Cocoonian guests were struck in awe at the décor within.

Fenrir's hall was a beautiful sight that brought large eyes and slacked jaws to all the new guests. Sazh hummed upon taking his first step in the dinner hall. Lightning knew exactly how they felt like, for no half a year ago she was a subject to the beauteous halls and rooms of the Caelum castle. She knew how exquisite the entire hall was and it simply stunned you into silence. Soon they'll feel small in sight of the grandeur around them, because everything was big and elaborate and shiny, and obviously made to please and awe anyone who comes in there. Paintings and ornaments were the least that drew the eye; checkered floor, crystal chandeliers and haunting statues of angels of death were more appealing to one's senses.

Hope whispered to Lightning, for it was almost a sin to disturb the serene silence within. "We're eating… in here?"

Lightning smirked. "Seems so."

The silver haired Estheim blinked at her, astonished. "Do you take your meals in here every day too?"

"Very rarely have I been in here myself outside of my patrolling routine. On days that the king is keeping court, he holds breakfast in here. Most of the time, Noctis takes his dinner in his private rooms. I have mine own also brought up."

No matter how collected Hope grew to be, he couldn't stay immune to the grandeur either. "This place is really awesome."

Vanille heard him and breathlessly agreed. "Imagine living in this marvelous castle every day! I'd feel like a princess."

"Or a queen." Fang added with a grin to her friends.

Noctis moved ahead of them and waved at the long table, already set with blinking tableware and silver cutlery. "Please, take a seat wherever you want."

Vanille gasped giddily. "Oh, we're going to dine as royalty, are we?" Noctis nodded and she skipped to a handsomely carved mahogany chair. "Exactly like a princess!" She said again, this time really feeling it.

Sazh took the one besides her. "You are one, Vani! Fang treats you like a royal majesty every day."

The ginger haired Oerbian blushed, covering a cheek with her hand. "Tosh!"

"Hey, does that mean I can take the head of the table?" Snow yelled over their heads to the prince. "You did say we can sit wherever we want!"

"Sure." Caelum waved at him to go ahead.

The giant blond took the first chair of the table, no doubt feeling like a king himself. "My lady, if thou would sit on my right?" He took Serah's hand and offered her the mentioned seat.

The pretty rosette bowed in their play and gracefully sat down. "I thank thee, my lord."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "Now we have to stare at you all through dinner?" She quipped at Snow, taking the chair between Serah and Hope. "Our food can only go down miserably."

Hope snickered right next to her, but Snow never let his sister-in-law's words get to him. They slid off of him like rain off his trench coat. This had been their game of tease for years now, one that he never took to heart.

"Worry not, sis!" He boomed. "I'll be there to rub your tummy if you do get sick."

The group shared their laughs, but before they could entirely sit down to truly start their feast, a sound of crash and a loud laughter came from outside of the dinner hall. Footsteps echoed, leading up to the double doors and a new voice joined the Hall of Fenrir when they weren't here before. "Heeey, you starting without us?" It was Prompto who announced his arrival, accompanied with his two other friends.

The prince evened his eyes at his friends before shaking his head. "What did you just break, Prompto?"

"What, me?" The blond pointed at himself, shrugging the accusation off. "Nothing at all. I mean no one else heard that sound, right?" Prompto easily addressed the newcomers with a smile and a wave, his blue eyes curiously settling on Vanille.

Noctis wasted no time and immediately started introducing the Cocoonians to his friends and vica versa, perfectly matching every new name he met but an hour ago with every of their faces. "These are my closest friends and comrades, Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto."

"What's up!" Snow did the nod thing and the three boys nodded back.

"Yo." Fang waved, and with a balmy grin that the Lucii boys already knew where that was heading, Gladio waved back.

"Are you guys princes too?" Dajh pointed at the three newcomers.

"Well," Prompto started comically, and went as far as straightening his spine to appear more regal. "I would like to think so, kid! In fact–"

He was interrupted by Ignis. "No, we're not. Noct is the only one of royal blood. But, you can say we're something of a lord." It was evident that Ignis had something of an affinity to kids. The tone of his voice completely changed and softened when he talks to the little boy.

"Oh." Dajh said, less enthusiastic. "That isn't as awesome."

More chuckles went around and Prince Noctis asked his friends to join them for the dinner as well. Gladiolus all but clambered for the empty seat next to Fang, bumbling all the while. It caused Prompto to smile slyly, because Gladiolus only ever lost his cool in front of a girl that he actually liked. The tall Amicitia took to her as agile and subtle as an elephant. He plopped down beside her, giving her his full attention and smiled. "Hey, I'm Gladiolus, but you can call me Gladio."

It was a redundant opening line considering that the young future king just pointed out who they were, but Fang liked the look of him. "Hey," She drawled in return. "I'm Fang. But you can call me Fang."

He already liked her sense of humor, the way she looked, the tattoo on her arm, her sense of style. "Fang…" He tasted the name, that was just as exotic as herself. "I like it."

"So do I." She shrugged easily, with a playful air that immediately gripped him. "It's an old name among us, and actually a boy's name in our tribe."

He liked how easily she fell into conversation with him. She didn't blink and blush and giggled, but if he read the signs right – for he could misread them at times – she seemed to be as instantly into him as he was for her. As she introduced herself fully, he raised an eyebrow at her description of her name. "Tribe?" He asked. "You're not from Cocoon or something?"

"Or something." Her green eyes smiled more than her rather alluring mouth did. "What, did the accent not give it away?"

Gladiolus laughed and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Granted, I do not know much of Cocoon's dialects and accents. Lightning's the only one I could go on from."

She played with the utensils on the table as she answered him, kind of avoiding his gaze. "It's a faraway place and not very significant anymore in the grand scheme of things."

"Still, I would love to hear all about it." And of her as well. She seemed highly interesting as she looked back up at him and smiled charmingly.

Prompto silently poked Ignis in his side, indicating the visible crush Gladio was forming, and Ignis in turn signaled to Noctis about the same. The crown prince smiled at the two of them, raising his shoulders in a way that said that he was rooting for his tall friend.

Argentum was ready to make embarrassing jokes on Gladio's expense, when the pretty girl with the tails happily waved him and Ignis over as if she was the one extending the dinner invitation over to them. "Here, here! There's empty seats right here."

Prompto flicked on his vest, standing up straight. "Don't mind if I do." He skidded over right to Vanille's side, extending his hand to officially meet her. "A pleasure to meet you. Vanille, right?"

"Yup." She popped giddily. "That's my sister, Fang." She pointed across the table where the other Oerbian was leaning in closer to the other one of the prince's friends. "And this is Hope." She pulled Hope out his conversation with Lightning or whatever he's doing to point at him.

Prompto's grin froze. "'Sup, kid."

Hope tried not to frown at the new nickname the slightly older than him blond just provided. "Um, hey."

After Vanille pretty much established her special relations to Hope and Fang, she fully turned to Prompto once more. "Have you been friends with the prince for long? What's it like? I bet it's exciting! Are you a lord yourself?"

Prompto grinned, glad that he got her full attention to himself. "Yeah, quite a few years. Never a dull day with Noct. It is and I am." He answered in a row and he could swear he could see stars in Vanille's chartreuse colored eyes.

Hope shook his head, knowing Vanille was entranced with everything that had slightly to do with the royal prince, even though the subject of her stargazed admiration was seated half across from them. Hope was levelheaded enough to know Vanille's antics, and instead focused back on Lightning, whose absence from Cocoon he acutely missed these last seven months.

The servants finally arrived with the plates of food, placing them on the table like an accurately choreographed dance and removing the coverings in a synonymous gesture. Salads of every variation had been placed on the longtable. As main dish a perfectly cooked turkey was placed, but all kinds of other dishes were available as well. Snow's eyes bulged at the choices he could pick. Dajh instantly asking to get himself a plate of fries, while Fang noted that there wasn't enough spicy food to go around.

"There's never enough spice in anything for you." Lightning commented off-hand to Fang, as she handed over her own plate with rice. "I swear, you put so much in yours I wonder how you haven't burned through your throat yet."

Fang pointed her fork in Light's direction. "Hey, my spice and your spice are two different things."

Serah and Lightning shared a glance, before they laughed under their breath at whatever joke only the two of them seemed to get. Snow started praising every dish he managed to put in his mouth, until he got to the cold soups that had everyone raising their eyebrows.

"Gazpacho," The bespectacled Scientia provided when no one understood why the soups were cold. "Comes in a bunch of flavors, actually."

Sazh sniffed at the soup and took a spoon to his mouth, but Dajh's face was one of horror. Lightning didn't let the boy so easily off the hook. She gathered a few greens and pushed the salad towards the child, who turned his disgusted face from the cold soup to the vegetables. "You're not skipping on those, little man." Lightning warned the boy, who dejectedly started forking into the greens and chewed unhappily. There were only two people he dared not to invoke their wraths, and both of them happen to be sisters.

Ignis shared the same sentiment that the little boy had to eat his greens, much as he wished Noctis would, but Dajh's discontent face was something the bespectacled man was just weak against. "You can get an extra dessert if you eat all of your vegetables." Ignis promised the child over the table and instantly Dajh's eyes sparkled once again.

"Really?" He gaped, mouth full of cherry tomatoes. He looked up at his father, who nodded at the same time with Ignis.

"You will, but only if you finish the plate." Ignis pointed at Dajh's relatively full salad, and he only eagerly started to chew the greens down.

Prompto laughed. "Oh, here we go. You've summoned Iggy's maternal instincts." The rest of the table laughed along with him, except for Ignis, who atypically flushed under his glasses.

Hope leaned towards Lightning and whispered under his breath to her. "Kind of like you," He mumbled amused. "You're the same."

She slid a finger against her lips and hushed him. "Don't go advertising that."

The group were entirely invested in the dinner that no one noticed Noct's unusual silence, who picked more of his food than he ate from it. Hardly had he any attention for his own dinner when his eyes kept floating over towards his bodyguard.

To see Lightning with her family, was like being privileged to a sight that was rare and unique. The smile on her brought on by Hope on her left or by Serah on her right, brought luster to her brilliant eyes, an additional glow and an awe in Noctis he never thought to have occulated for her.

It had been quite some time since he has had so much fun during dinner within Fenrir's hall. The dinner room was reserved for more formal occasion that Noctis always hated. Now there was laughter from Prompto and Vanille. An embarrassing snort from Fang. Dajh's incessant talking and Ignis dutifully answering every of the boy's questions. Lightning and Serah having very little attention to anyone else at the table at times except each other, and Snow entertained the whole table with loud obnoxious nonsense.

Noctis could see why Lightning missed them so much. He pegged her as someone who preferred silence, but her closed ones were anything but. The thought that she connected so familiarly, so intimately with a bunch of people who are her direct opposite and considers them her family brought a smile to Noct's face.

His own observations were broken when Vanille called him from zoning out and Snow started to tease him about it. Nothing that the prince couldn't handle. He'd been having the same kind of treatment from Gladio and Prompto, and occasionally even Ignis, for years.

They were a total of eleven dining in Fenrir's hall, and very little of the food went wasted. Most of it were gobbled up by Fang and Snow, and Gladiolus of course went without saying. Gladio even complimented Fang on the amount of food she managed to stuff herself with. She was nearly contested by Hope, who turned red when Ignis pointed out how much plates he had taken. The silver haired Estheim only argued that he was still a growing boy and needed his nutrition.

By the end of it, Vanille and Serah expressed how they felt guilty that servants were cleaning their tableware away when they were so used to doing it themselves, and that it felt almost wrong to them to let others pick up for them.

"I don't know, babe," Snow told his wife with a grin. "I actually like all this pampering. We should get some servants for ourselves."

But Serah frowned at him. "Don't be so lazy, Snow. That's not the kind of man I married."

It was in that particular scolding tone of hers that Prince Noctis heard the similarity she shared with Lightning. Serah definitely radiated as the gentler of the two Farron sisters; her smiles came easier and her general complacency was sweeter, but no doubt when trifled one could easily see who influenced Serah as she grew up.

Snow only shrugged and apologized to his little wife and reached over to give her a kiss, but Hope made a gagging sound that prevented the married Villiers from going any further. Instead Snow went to swing a playful punch in Hope's direction and the silver haired teen threatened to throw a spoonful of soup at Snow's face.

"Lightning never really gave her opinion about our food," Noctis was heard saying. "But I hope you all liked it."

"I sure did! Dajh ate all his plate. And lemme tell you," Sazh said behind a hand loudly. "He never does."

"That's because you mostly burn the rice, daddy." Dajh said offhand as he gathered a palm full of cherry tomatoes and started to build a pyramid with them.

The rest snickered at Dajh's comment as Sazh grumbled under his breath. Hope nodded at the prince afterwards, giving his own approval at the cuisine that he liked very much. "Although the cold soup was something I have to get used to."

"It's an old Lucii delicacy." Noctis told him. "Especially the Gysahl green soup. But I absolutely hate it."

Prompto leaned over the table and mock whispered where everyone could still hear him. "Noct here hates vegetables and everything that tastes like it."

Dajh gasped. "Me too!" He yelled at the prince, sharing their distaste for vegetables.

"Yeah, but you better eat yours." Sazh grumbled over to his son.

"Noct isn't very princely because he hasn't eaten his greens very much." Ignis supplied and it looked like that had convinced the little boy enough to set out to eat his vegetables with more taste next time.

Vanille bit her lip, she looked too excited to stay seated in her chair. "But now that dinner is over, you're gonna give us a tour of your beautiful home, right?"

"If you wish it." Noctis conceded, but flicked his black watch at the table to indicate the hour. "Although it's getting rather late and this is a pretty big place… we can continue where we left off tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan!"

"I like to be the tourist for once." Sazh said leaning into his seat. "Would be great if we got to see some of the city."

"And the famous spots too! I saw some giant statues when we drove through it."

Noctis held one hand up and the other on his chest. "On my honor as a prince, you'll see it all if you like."

"Oh, yay!" Vanille cheered when Fang did as well. Hope clinked his glass of soda with Vanille's. Sazh mumbled something about hoping that he doesn't need to be the one to drive them there and Fang grinned at Gladio.

Impatient with the prospect of taking this tour the prince promised, Vanille urged the others to hurry up with finishing the last dregs of their drinks so they could start through the Caelum's keep. They had never been through a real castle before; towers and temples, huts and humongous floating airships and cities in the sky were places they've seen and gone to, but ancient castles were still not crossed off their bucket list.

The redhead remained vigilantly by the prince's side when he finally started his guidance through the palace, with Prompto smoothly making his way to occupy her other side. Gladiolus was the gentleman and personally asked if Fang would be so kind as to accompany him. Ignis and Lightning followed behind last as if they were protecting the group's flank, but Hope slowed until he walked along with Light also.

In all honesty, he wasn't that allured by hearing the tales the royal heir has to say as if he were a tour guide.

Lightning poked Hope's forehead. "And here I thought you liked all these nerdy details."

The young Estheim shrugged. "If I wanted to know about the history of the castle, I'd read about it. I'd rather you tell me how you managed to get used to these cold soups instead."

She managed to catch up with the silver haired teen as much as she could while Noctis led them through the other dinner rooms, one of the ballrooms on their way through. Minerva's Hall, Hall of Ma'at and Fenrir's Hall were all known to them by the end. They also managed to step inside the throne room.

The throne itself was both gorgeous and imposing, and Snow was hung that he couldn't take a picture sitting in it, fancying himself a king.

"There's this law that verdicts that no one but the royal family is allowed to sit in the throne." Noctis explained when Snow started pouting. "It used to be a law that says only the monarch could, but my grandfather liked to have my dad sit on the throne a lot before he ascended. Even I have a painting sitting in it with dad when I was six. Although," The prince dramatically looked around him to check for anyone's presence besides their own. "You can sneak a quick picture if no one is to see us."

Snow let the subject go however, fearing they would get busted.

Right behind the throne room was the Chamber of Dawn, its entrance were powerful golden doors, carved with flowers and skulls, a Latin inscription in big fancy letters engraved in them. Senatus Populusque Lucii. "The Senate and People of Lucis." Noctis translated, going on to tell them that this is where they held parliament.

The head seat of the glorious marble long table was also reserved for the crown, but there was no law stating that no one else was to exclusively refrain from seating within it.

They didn't take any pictures, but Snow, Sazh and Fang liked to reenact a parliament meeting as they faked conducting business and had outrageous cries as if they were at court.

Serah gaped at the stone angels and macabre reapers looking down at them, making her feel small and mortal beneath them.

"Creepy, aren't they?" Lightning whispered to her.

Her little sister agreed, but couldn't stop staring regardless. "But still weirdly beautiful."

Lucii architecture was gothic and entrancing, a dark beauty like a mix of flowers and death.

Serah loved the décor as much as Lightning does, for she knew her older sister had a weakness for pretty things. It was just in Light's habit to keep it to herself. Joining her sibling in walking a big circle around the Chamber of Dawn, Serah couldn't help but notice how Lightning was looking much less homesick than she expected to find her, and that was not just because they've come to join her for the time being. Lightning seemed at ease within the castle, not as frigid as she would be if she were at the Guardian Corp's base. It was odd to see her sister so appeased at a place that was not home.

Serah reached for her sister, touching Lightning's hair. Physically, Light hasn't changed in the months since she left and despite being far and long from home, the Lucii air looked good on Light. "Your hair's grown longer…" The sight of the length was a rarity and it struck Serah how much she missed seeing it as she played with Lightning's hair.

"Hm?" The soldier seemed to have not noticed it at all. It was maybe an inch or two more than her usual length. "Didn't really think of cutting it yet. I should remember to do that."

There once was a time when they were children, Serah recalled, that Lightning's hair was as long as hers had been. But that was before their mother died and she joined the military. "Looks good, sis."

Lightning only smiled, nodding for her sister to go after the others as Noctis and Ignis took point when the group had seen their fill in the Chamber of Dawn. They proceeded up the stairs, passing by two of the three libraries. Everyone threw knowing looks at Hope when they peeked into the libraries, since his love for books was famous among them.

The prince guided the rest through the dim corridors where paintings of kings and queens of yore hung about. He was propelled to answer more questions the guests had and he easily went on with the history of those they were interested in. Lightning had heard it before, but she didn't mind the repetition. She liked the sound of his voice as much as it seemed that he liked telling the stories.

The end of the sightseeing through the castle ended in the section of the Caelum home where most of the private rooms were located, the lavish suites and guestrooms that even Lightning didn't completely scour through yet.

"Feel free to pick and switch with each other if you like," Prince Noctis had shown them a set of rooms that they could accommodate in while they stayed over in Insomnia. "I picked the ones closest to each other if you want to trade." He shrugged, as if picking rooms was a card game.

The fact is, there were enough rooms available for each single one of them, but Fang and Vanille opted to bunk together. Serah remained with her husband and Sazh naturally with his son. That left Hope alone in his room, but he didn't mind. He liked the silence that the solitude brought.

"If you guys need anything, you can call up a servant to attend you whenever you want." Noctis went about his way explaining the com-device that was up against the wall in every room.

Fang studied the little machine with a keen eye. "Is there a button to call you?"

Noctis's chuckle came out diffidently. "Not really, but you can summon someone who will guide you to me. I'd advise against it. It's quite a walk, actually."

"Dad! Dad!" Dajh called over from one of the rooms. "The bed is really bouncy!"

That had Sazh rushing over to where his son is in a slight panic. "Don't you go breaking the bed now, boy." He could never afford to pay back a drinking glass if he breaks it, let alone any other property of the royalties.

It was the prince himself who waved the warning away and let Dajh have his way on jumping around. They really shouldn't worry about it, and even if it did break, the bed would be replaced within the day and it would be no trouble at all. He did scratch at the back of his head, hoping the Cocoonian guests were comfortable with the rooms he picked for them. "Are you sure you have enough room?"

Sazh looked around the guest suite, already astonished by the size of the place. "Any bigger and you'd have to give us our own castle, kid. We're fine! Ain't that right, Dajh?"

The child wasn't answering when he had thrown all the pillows and blankets on the floor while bouncing on the bed. "Weeh!"

Noctis smiled at the whole image. "We meet tomorrow for breakfast then, yes?" He told them the time, though early it was, they made sure they would be ready.

Sazh went around trying to pick the pillows back up, waving at the prince over his shoulder. "We sure do. Goodnight, kid! You too, soldier!"

Lightning nodded and then she was left alone with the heir apparent. Everyone had found their rooms and retired, and the bodyguard and the prince doubled back towards the castle's east wing.

Noctis seemed consumed within his thoughts as they walked, and before Lightning could ask him what was on his mind, he told her on his own. "I hope they're settled right."

She shrugged, recalling her sister's usual complains when they stayed the night somewhere that wasn't their home in Bodhum. "I'm surprised that Snow was fine with the room so easily." Lightning explained as they walked together. "He may not seem like it, but he has the most issues in sleeping quarters."

"I was thinking more about Sazh, who has a kid and all. And an energetic one at that." He hadn't known how much space exactly the father and son would need. The castle provided plenty of rooms, and when Noctis was a child it was a bountiful space to get lost in, but he hadn't been half as spirited as Dajh was. Maybe Sazh needed a more appropriate suite for the two of them, where Dajh could jump and run around to his heart's content.

Lightning shook her head, assuring Noctis that the two of them are fine. "You'd spoil Dajh otherwise. They're good where they are, Noctis. It's Snow you should ask if he was comfortable. I think he has trouble with his size. The beds are always too small for him."

Noctis snorted besides her, remembering Gladio having the same problem at every other hotel they stayed at, and how his feet always hung off the end of the bed. "Dad renovated all the furniture in the castle after the war. I think we got Snow covered."

They continued the rest of their journey in a comfortable silence, where only the sound of Lightning's soles tapping against the marble floor was heard as she fell into step with him. When they at last reached the prince's privy rooms.

On the point that they were to take their separate ways for the night, the two lingered around each other. Noctis knew there were still things to be said about this surprise visit, and they hadn't had the opportunity to actually speak about it because he was too busy playing the host for their guests. But now they were alone and he had her by herself. Lightning stood gazing at the ground awkwardly. She had so many things to ask, even when she didn't have a clue where to start. When she did have the courage to finally look up at him, she found his cobalt blue eyes staring right at her.

"Noctis?" She timidly called him while she didn't need to. She had all his attention either way. Her chest constricted and she swallowed thickly. "How?" She uttered quietly into the silent hallway. She realized that she had asked this question earlier that day, but with all the commotion of her friends, the answer was a blur in a sea of joy.

Prince Caelum scratched the back of his head, looking anywhere but at her. It was a gesture she recognized by now that he did whenever he felt shy. "Is that a 'how' of how did we bring them to Lucis? A 'how' of how did I know them? Or is it a 'how' as in, how did I manage to do all this without you knowing?"

Lightning bit her lip, wanting to hit him for being coy but couldn't stop the beam rising to her face. "Either. All of them."

"The simple answer? Oh, you know," He raised his shoulders, trying to be comical. "Connections."

Not amused with his sassy response, she bumped him on his arm. "Really?"

But he sobered up, his eyes genuine when he told her true. "Really." Then he looked away, hiding behind his hair. "Remember on Christmas, and I walked in on you having a rather emotional phone call?"

"Yes." She was not happy with him back then. She was deprived of her family during quite an intimate holiday and he found her vulnerable and nearly weeping when she never wanted to show him that side of her.

"I knew you had to have some family back on Cocoon that you missed." Noctis sighed, ashamed of his lack of compassion in those days. "So I remembered that. Great many things happened since and I owed you so much. A decent apology for one, for all the times that I've been a jerk to you. For not considering your own wishes you must have had, to take at least a week of leave to go back home. And I owed you my gratitude. For saving my life. For the excellent protection you provide and, of course, for sneaking out with us to a hunting trip behind dad's back." He smiled at the memory. "If you couldn't go back home, even for a few days, I figured they could come to see you. The weeks we were in lockdown I had General Cor contact your commanding officer, who, in turn, told Cor that you had a younger sister and he called her. I didn't actually speak to your sister. You probably would've figured out within a second that I did and I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

He wanted to surprise her. Lightning didn't even know what to say to that, because there was so many things to be said. She wanted to laugh, to cry, to call him an idiot simply because he went through so much trouble. What did one say, when someone does so much just to please you?

He cleared his throat, nervously toying with his watch. "One thing led to another and… here they are."

She didn't know what to say. Stunned was the least type of word to describe her feelings now by the mere efforts he went through to pull this off. "You did all that…" Lightning could do nothing else but stare at him. Her breath halting in her lungs, her fingers tingling, her voice no louder than a whisper. "You brought them all the way over from Cocoon… for me?"

For a moment Noctis didn't know where to look. He felt heat creep up his neck, but he willed it down with an air of nonchalance. He blinked, proceeded with scratching the back of his head sheepishly before he caught himself, looked up and held her eyes straightforwardly. "…Yeah."

Lightning didn't know what to say. She only felt a light feeling bubbling in her chest, that spread all over her in something warm and airy. It made her belly flutter and her stomach clench at the same time. It made her pulse race and the corners of her lips lift into a smile. A genuine smile that she couldn't stop, even if she wished to.

It was gratitude, Lightning convinced herself furiously of what she was feeling for him. It was nothing but gratitude, she thought, as she ignored the way her heart skipped a beat when his own lips curled upwards into a kind response.

It was the second time Noctis was graced with the sight of Lightning's rare smile, as beautiful as it was alluring, one entirely dedicated to him.

And it was just as mesmerizing as it before.

~ǽ~

Lightning returned to her room feeling light hearted and frivolous, as if she wanted to laugh for no reason. She hasn't ever felt this way if not but when she was still a little girl, and the whole situation made her smile uncontrollably. So much so that she was strangely excited to see what the next day would bring. She was much too energetic to go to bed, like a child waiting eagerly for Christmas morning.

Nevertheless, she forced herself to get ready for bed. She convinced herself that the reason she was feeling this way was because her family made it to Lucis and she was reunited with them and she was grateful that they were here. That was why she was feeling so uncharacteristically giddy. She didn't allow herself to delve too much into the nature of her emotions and rather persuaded herself of what she was feeling than what it really meant.

She had not yet completely slipped under her dark covers, when there was knocking on her door. Despite the time of the night, the knocking was quiet and unhurried, letting Lightning instantly know that it wasn't an emergency. She patted bare footed to her door, a smile unwittingly rose to her lips, suspecting that Noctis had returned for any specific reason. Only upon opening, she saw her sibling standing on the other side of the door instead. There is no feasible explanation as to why Lightning's smile shrunk, if only by a mere millimeter, but shrinking it did. Disappointment deflated her lungs, while she should be anything but. She couldn't tell you why she would have wanted to see the prince rather than her sister, whom she hasn't seen in months.

"Serah?"

"Surprise!" She giggled but kept her voice low in the quiet hallways. "Couldn't really sleep knowing you are again so close now. I thought I'd crash in with you." Uninvitingly, though not unwelcome, Serah slipped under Lightning's arm into her room. "I brought these two along, I hope you don't mind."

The eldest Farron was about to ask who the 'other two' were that Serah was referring to, when Fang popped out seemingly out of nowhere. "Hello there, Sunshine!" Fang grinned, Vanille was right behind her. "You don't think we're gonna let you spend another minute alone, do ya?"

Vanille did that squeaky giggle that was typically her when she was elated. "Not after they took you away from us for so long!"

"How did you guys even find me?" Lightning couldn't remember Noctis showing them where her temporary residency was while he gave the group a tour earlier that day, and they were vacated the rooms near the Peristylium courtyard. That was quite a trek to make in an environment they were not yet familiar with.

"What, you think we can't hunt you down?" Fang tapped her own cheek and followed Serah inside. She whistled. "This is the most normal room I've seen in this castle so far."

"Uhu, but look at the size of this bed!" Vanille and Serah both jumped onto Lightning's neatly arranged bed like two children.

"The Caelum castle actually have more 'normal' rooms like this." Lightning would know by now, having discovered all of them. "Noctis just didn't show you them. He pretends not to care, but he actually likes to impress his guests if he thinks it's worth his while." And the castle surely had some enticing rooms and halls to show off.

"He sure as hell impressed me." The redhead Oerbian gasped breathlessly.

"Are you talking about the castle or the prince?" Serah smirked at Vanille.

The latter went red in the face but she nodded. "Both." Laughing, she crawled under Lightning's covers and settling in the middle of the bed. Serah quickly followed her example.

Lightning, however, raised an eyebrow at their actions. "What exactly are you guys doing?"

"Sleepover!" One of Fang's slippers hit the soldier in the back and then she too slipped into Lightning's bed.

The bed was nearly half the size smaller than of the prince's, and the three of them in her space made Lightning wonder if she could fit in there with them at all. "And where am I supposed to sleep?"

"With us, of course!" Serah scooted over, which pressed Vanille against Fang and made her in turn try to make more room for Lightning.

It was a wee slither of bed space the girls presented Light with, but she made do with what was given. Being reunited with them in over months, she wasn't going to send them away. Sliding in next to Serah in her now way too small bed and holding her hand under the covers was something Lightning didn't want to trade for anything in the world. It was a crowd and the cramped space promised a very uncomfortable night, but it'll be worth it.

"What are we, five years old?" Lightning asked at the sleepover party, but she was as ecstatic about it as the others. She was just able to hide it better.

"We haven't seen you in forever," Serah softer voice explained. "You think our first night back together we're going to let you sleep separately from us?"

"Nah." Fang tsked on the other side of the bed. "Not gonna happen."

"And you just have to tell us everything of prince Noctis! What's his favorite food, favorite pass time? What does he do all by himself when no one is looking?!" Vanille piped up enthusiastically interrogating about her celebrity crush.

Pizza and hamburgers, Lightning thought the answer to every question, playing videogames and training… or alone probably hiding in one of the libraries reading a book. It was odd how she knew all those tidbits about him.

"And you gotta tell us about the prince's friends too." Fang added smoothly.

"Contrary to you meeting him, Noctis wasn't as nice to me as he was to you." Lightning remembered their less than pleasant first meeting and the prior first months following it.

Serah squeezed her sister's fingers gently. "Were you in turn nice to him at all?"

Lightning hesitated. "I… guess not."

"We figured." All three remaining said in unison that caused Lightning's face to color. She was thankful no one saw her.

"But you guys seemed to have worked it out greatly." Serah said. "I mean, he did invite us all to Lucis on your behalf."

"Which begs the question… Tell us true, Sunshine," Fang's voice turned serious and everyone went quiet. "Are you or are you not banging the prince?"

"What?!" Lightning sat up from the bed to directly glare down at the Pulsian woman. "Absolutely not! What kind of a question is that anyway?"

"We were all thinking it." Fang shrugged and Lightning glanced at her sister and then at Vanille to get some silent acquisition that they too shared this sentiment. One shook her head no, though Serah's blue eyes betrayed how much she thought otherwise, and the other nodded eagerly. "Some of us just don't want to say so out loud."

And with good reason. If Snow blabbered this question with his big mouth – a good possibility that it could have happened in Noctis's presence – Lightning would've hit Snow hard enough to send him back into the previous week.

"One does not simply fly over seven people into Lucis, from a very far place for a two-week vacation, just for the sake of your bodyguard." Fang reasoned and it was true, but it didn't in the least mean Lightning would be anything other than professional with what Noctis's concerned.

Vanille snickered under her breath. "I wouldn't have blamed you if, you know, you are intimate with him."

Fang winked flirtatiously, teased her, knowing it'll only rile Lightning up more. "I was so sure you've been all personal with him too, considering what he did for you." The three of them laughed into the blankets.

And it had its desired effect on the soldier. "N-no! I'm not-"

"Does he always look that good?" Vanille intercepted, not letting the opportunity to give her two cents pass by. "Or are there some days where he looks a little less than perfect?"

"I wouldn't know." Lightning huffed, crossing her arms. "I don't pay that much attention to how he looks."

Fang snorted and Serah laughed. "Yeah, right."

"I don't!" Lightning insisted and the other three shared chuckles again.

Lightning was anxious to have the subject changed from Noctis's obvious attractiveness and thankfully Fang was ready to ask her all about the others they met today. "And he's got some good-looking friends too."

"That tall guy sure clicked instantly with you." If Serah could, she would have send a smirk at Fang. "What's his name again?"

"Gladio, or Gladiolus Amicitia, really."

It was Lightning's turn to tease her. "Oh, you're on nicknames already?" It was some fast progress Fang was making with him. Lightning wasn't really sure how she should take that. She herself still wasn't comfortable enough to call any of them by the nicknames the boys have for each other.

"That must mean that Fang really likes Gladio." Vanille poked her Oerbian sister, but she remained cool in the face of their giggles at her expense.

"Have you seen him?" Fang said shamelessly. "If Light told us any sooner that they made them like that over here, I would've visited Lucis a long time ago."

"I doubt you'd find a Gladiolus walking around here five hundred years ago, Fang." Lightning grumbled, actually bummed that their teasing on Fang hadn't had the same bumbling response out of her as she gave them.

"His ancestors must be as hot as him. I mean, he gotta get it from somewhere, right? Ain't that hard, I bet."

"Yeah, no doubt he's rock hard under that suit." Vanille whispered, but she was heard by the other three regardless to which Fang elbowed her in her side.

"Hm, true." Lightning toned with a nod, remembering the training sessions of the prince when his friends joined him. "You should see him without a shirt."

"I bet it's an impressive sight, isn't it?" Fang made a moaning sound in the back of her throat, that caused Vanille's cheeks to redden.

"Fang!" The younger Oerbian poked her in the ribs.

"What?" Fang shrugged, unabashedly. "I'd like to grate cheese on him all day."

The follow up laughter almost caused Lightning to drop off the edge of the bed.

~ǽ~

Lightning was physically uncomfortable in her own bed. It was much too small to house four people in it, made even worse by Fang's restless sleeping habit, who tended to move around and lie spread eagle, pushing Vanille into Serah and Serah against Lightning.

Despite the awkward position Lightning was forced to sleep through most of the night, she still wouldn't have changed it for anything in the world. She has had undisturbed rest for neigh on seven months on pillows and a bed as soft as if they were made of clouds, but she had been alone and worlds apart from those who mattered in the meantime. Now they were with her again, if only for two weeks, and if Lightning had to suffer the whole fortnight of their stay as uncomfortable as she was last night, she'll do it without complaining.

Because her sleeping stiffly, Lightning woke a bit earlier than her normal hours before she is to take her morning surveillance around the castle, and with some of time left to spare, she decided to take a nice long hot shower this time around.

Tip toeing around her room as to not wake any of the remaining three from their slumber, she grabbed her necessities and slipped into the bathroom. Brushing her teeth before hopping under the shower, she let the hot water dissolve the kinks from her shoulders and back due to her awkward position all night. She took to her washing her hair, mentally taking a note that Serah was right and she should trim them. She hadn't cut her hair ever since she arrived in Lucis and hadn't paid much attention to its length at all. It streamed down her back like a river of red rose hair, being much too long for her tastes.

As she was lathering herself up with soap, the bathroom door opened.

"Mornin', sis!" Serah's melodic voice sang from somewhere near the sink. "I hope you didn't sleep all too horribly."

Lightning couldn't see her, for the glass stall around her was all fogged up. She saw maybe a shape through the cloud of condensation. "Morning." Lightning murmured, still rubbing her shoulders in case any stiffness remained from her pretty horrible sleeping position. "It was bad, but I don't mind. But what are you doing up so early?"

The faucet of the sink turned on briefly and then closed again. Serah answered her sibling around her toothbrush. "Pang plipped awound in heh sleep and acciwently hip Phanille in ta phace." She brushed around some more and then rinsed. "Vanille cried out when Fang kinda slapped her in her sleep, making Vanille shove an elbow in my side. It was fun." The latter comment was of the sarcastic variety.

Lightning smiled under the stream of water. "That means the other two are awake as well?"

"Yep!" It was Fang who answered this time, having joined the two sisters in the bathroom. "And I've been waiting forever for you to get out of that shower, Sunshine. Does the Lucii king permit you all these minutes in the bathroom so that could you practically create your own personal spa? Etro be good! What if something happens to your precious prince during one of these long showers?"

Although the taller Pulsian couldn't see her, Lightning still rolled her eyes. "I don't normally take this long. I'm in and about as fast as I can. I'm–"

She was interrupted when a nude Fang suddenly threw open the glass door of the shower, stunning Lightning into an appalled silence. "Well then, get going soldier. There are more of us in line here."

Lightning glared at her, her voice suddenly quite high. "But I'm not ready!"

"You are now." Fang hit Lightning in the face with Light's own towel and yanked her out of there to put her own Pulsii head under the hot stream of water. "Thanks for preheating the shower, mate. The temperature is just right."

Flushed, soaked and frowning, Lightning wrapped the towel around herself. Serah stood laughing behind her hand near the sink and then the last of their foursome decided to finally join them in the bathroom. Vanille came in rubbing the sleep from her eyes, clearly a bit tired still, with a red angry mark on her left cheek. Serah hadn't been lying when she said Fang accidentally slapped her during their sleep.

"What is all this noise about?" The ginger Oerbian yawned. "First that rude wakeup call–" At this, she stopped looking sleepy for just a fraction of a second to glare at the shower Fang was occupying.

"I said I was sorry, 'Nille." Fang apologized again in the steaming bathroom.

"–And now this commotion." Vanille proceeded as if she didn't hear her other sister. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Around six-thirty, I believe." Serah answered the rather rhetorical question.

And it was a rhetorical question. Vanille didn't look happy about being reminded of the ungodly hour she was already up and about in.

Lightning was a little later than usual with doing her patrol, but it could be overlooked today. "Get going, then. Breakfast serves over more than an hour."

"That early?"

"Life of royalty start early and end late." Lightning shrugged. "Noctis warned you as much yesterday, didn't he?" Normally the prince doesn't even like getting up that early either and most cases, he has his breakfast brought up at a later time to his chambers, unless he was specifically forced on a more social morning meal with his father and the high lords. Noctis hated when he had to sit through breakfast with the high lords, she knew.

Vanille yawned again, but since she was already awake, she might as well go about with her morning routine while Lightning quickly brushed through her hair, applied the figurative powder to her nose, dressed into her uniform and hastened down one of her familiar, albeit a shorter patrol route.

She rushed through it in fact, when she wouldn't ever allow herself to do so under normal circumstances, but her checkup seemed as calm and uneventful as the previous days had been, and ending her routine from the castle's rooftop – where the sun rose over the landscape and the city beyond – she dropped down onto the balcony that led to her room, consequently also Noctis's. She heard the prince moving in his bedroom, a clear indication that he was getting ready to join them for breakfast shortly.

Much to her surprise, he opened the door when she landed on the balcony, beaming unusually bright first thing in the morning. It was a common knowledge by now that he didn't favor these early hours of the day, but she guessed he wanted to be up and even look happy about it too.

"Good morning." He nearly sang. "Hope you slept well?"

His sprightly attitude, for whatever reason, made him glow. The flutter of a feeling she got seeing him made her smile. "As well as I could."

"Heard someone drop on the floor last night." That had been her and her cheeks flushed. "But I heard laughter so I guessed you were okay. Did your sister join you?"

"Slumber party." Lightning answered sarcastically, not that she caught much sleep in any way. "Fang and Vanille came along too. They're still in here making a crowd," She pointed a finger to the door that led to her chamber.

Noctis snorted a laugh. "Sounds like fun."

"You're up extra early today." She had to pointed out his unusual custom.

But he only shrugged. "Got a reason to wake up for."

Who was this freak who happily got up so early in the morning, he who despised the notion so much? She smiled thinking that he found her relatives important enough to voluntary get out of his bed so early, while she knew he reluctantly got up to greet important politicians otherwise. "Right. I'll gather the others and meet you for breakfast?"

"Hall of Minerva good?"

"I'll let the others know."

When the soldier stepped back into her room, her three sleep-companions were already waiting her return. There was no need for them to wait for her, and yet no further step was taken until they were sure that Lightning would join them. The four of them visited the remaining others of the Cocoon party, collecting them to head to the breakfast parlor, for Lightning was sure they would get lost in this giant palace otherwise. When reaching Serah and Snow's room, Snow was still fighting with getting his boot on. By Sazh's room, Dajh was heard from two doors down, running and jumping on the bed as if he was already on a sugar rush. He clung to Serah's hips when she appeared at the door, and didn't let go until they were having breakfast, cracking jokes with Snow in the early morning. Hope had been entertaining himself while he waited on the summon by watching cartoons on the flat-screen TV that hung against his wall.

As promised, Noctis awaited them at the doors that led to Minerva's Hall, but not alone this time. He stood surrounded by his three friends, who amiably mingled well with the Cocoonian newcomers as soon as they were together to share breakfast.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Prompto slowly inched towards Vanille. "You guys sure look very nice in the morning." He said it in a way like he was addressing the group, but he kept his eyes trained on the ginger Oerbian girl.

Vanille seemed oblivious to it but Hope cleared his throat and glared at the blond. Argentum expertly bushed it off as he waved at the entire Cocoonian platoon to enter for breakfast.

All of them had already seen the Hall of Minerva the day before, but in clear daylight the place was still something to admire. It was the second biggest dinner hall other than Fenrir's Hall and an outstanding room by all standards.

"I hope you all slept well?" Noctis inquired as they all chose their places at the table.

"Was like I slept on a cloud." Hope commented quietly. He was busy trying to persuade Dajh to go sit anywhere else than the spot the boy had chosen, but Dajh stubbornly refused since he wanted to sit next to Lightning. Serah naturally occupied Light's other side, so Hope was out of luck.

"I slept like a baby!" At Fang's exclamation, she earned the ire of Vanille, Lightning and Serah, who had to put up with her notorious awful sleeping habit. Lightning hadn't mind the intrusion at all.

Snow nodded too. "The beds are actually great."

Noctis couldn't help but glancing at Lightning, as that was one of her concerns the night before. She met his eyes and they only shared a knowing smile together about it.

"Got trouble with the size of the beds, eh?" Gladio pointed at Snow, since they were about the same height. "Can relate. They don't make 'em for giants like us."

"Yeah," Snow bumped his fist with him. "Glad to know that I could sleep without hanging half out of it."

Gladiolus turned with a slick suggestive grin towards Fang as he answered Snow, "I like my beds big. Lotsa space for… sleeping."

Ignis closed his eyes, kicking Gladio viciously against his shin under the table. "There are children present." Iggy pointed his nose in Dajh's direction.

"Are you talking about me?" The boy wasn't as clueless as they thought he was, frowning up to the adults as he were.

Lightning quickly pulled the small Katzroy's attention to the food before he started asking more questions. "Look, breakfast is here. Do you want some toast, little man?"

The Adservio placed platters with dozens of variations of food on the table. Sazh filled his plate full of sandwiches, while Lightning snuck herself and Dajh a few chocolate-covered bagels. Fang and Vanille were reaching for the fruit, mostly biting into green colored apples. Gladiolus has never been so enticed just by seeing a woman eat an apple. On the end of the table, Hope kind of got hooked on Ebony coffee when Ignis and Noctis shared a cup.

A happy event it was, much like dinner had been the night before where the conversation felt more like an interrogation interview this time around than last night. Light's relatives wondered about things from kingship to matters of the state, making Noct shake his head at the improbability of it all.

"If I knew I was coming for a job interview, I would have prepared." Noctis smiled over the cup of his coffee, the others sharing his amusement with him.

Hope had been the most piqued about all of it "We're just interested. Light never asked you anything? It's been awhile since we've seen the ins and outs of a running government."

"No." Noctis and Lightning answered at the same time. Lightning shrugged noncommittedly. "It isn't my place to ask. I'm only his bodyguard."

"Heh," Fang laughed at hearing the rose haired typical response. "Light is always a stickler for duty. She keeps to the rules."

"Unless you piss her off." Hope pointing out and the Cocoonian guests snickered at the truth of it.

Lightning harrumphed and pouted in her chair when her family tried their best to hide their laughter. But Noctis was the only one who couldn't stop staring. With her family around, Lightning showed different sides of her that she would otherwise keep to herself. Seeing her pout when they teased her – teasing Sergeant Lightning Farron had been an incredulous thought, let alone seeing it in actuality – was like a whole new world opening up to him. Did she even realize how cute she was when she did that?

"The Lucii are no Dysley." The soldier mumbled in explanation as to why she never asked about anything political concerning the Lucis government. Unlike Dysely, the Lucian rulers weren't corrupt.

Ignis leaned forward. "Who is Dysley?"

No one immediately answered, but Hope broke the silence eventually. "Prime minister of Eden, basically Cocoon's sadistic dictator."

"Runner of a corrupted state." Snow looked down at his plate.

Sazh's tone was ominous and grave. "A mass-murderer."

Breakfast lay forgotten and a silence ruled when the Cocoonian party reminisced and the Lucii boys allowed them to mourn.

Lightning couldn't stand the sullen air that had fallen over them. "Dysley is gone." She declared. "Forget it."

"Right." Serah copied her sister. "It's a subject for another time. Prince Noctis promised to show us the rest of his home still."

"What?" Noctis gaped at them. "You weren't completely bored yesterday?"

"Nah, it's a palace! A beautiful one at that. Let's go!" Fang pushed away from the table, pulling up Gladio and Hope besides her to get going.

The young Estheim waved at his relatively full plate. "But I'm still not done eating."

"Shove a toast in your mouth! Come on!"

Fang took point, urging the group behind her to follow her as if she already knew the layout of the entire place. Noctis only followed them wherever they wanted to go; from the foyer to the kitchens, to the grounds leading outside. When they came to the sport courts outside, Prompto suggested a basketball match.

"I'm in!" Snow threw off his trench coat.

"So am I!" Vanille looked like she never played the game in her life, but she was nevertheless very excited about it. "Hope, we should play!"

Hope stammered, back paddling when he knew he had no experience of the game, but it was no reasonable excuse for Vanille. "I-I've never–"

"Doesn't matter." She pulled at his hand. "You're in my team. Snow's team."

Snow, Vanille and Hope ended up playing against Gladio, Noct and Prompto. Serah and Dajh hung about with the other four, the two posing as cheerleaders for the Cocoonian squad. In the warm spring air, they looked onto the match with Fang and Sazh laughing at Hope and Vanille bumbling over the court.

All too soon it became clear that Snow's team was losing hard. "I-I am pooped." Hope panted and asked Fang how the score faired for them.

"Twenty for Lucis." Gladio just shot the ball. "Err, make that twenty-three."

Noctis wasn't a pro at basketball either, but he was a good team player and always passed the ball to Gladio, who was clearly the star of the team. Even Vanille could see that they were losing badly. Hope was out of breath, she barely grasped the rules of the game, and Snow, being the tallest, was the only one who scored points and was capable enough to defend from Gladiolus.

She looked at her Oerbian sister. "Fang! You and Light switch with Hope." Vanille patted Hope out of the game before he started hyperventilated.

Lightning and Fang only looked at each other, smirked and nodded. They took to court and Snow cheered. "Let's show 'em, sis."

"It's four against three! Iggz!" Prompto insisted on the man to enter as well. "You're in."

Ignis shrugged off the jacket of his suit, for once not rejecting the idea, but had to warn his friends of a single condition to agreeing playing the game. "If my glasses break, I'll kick your ass."

"Oooooh, he's serious when there are threats."

Gladio blindly threw the ball over his shoulder, knowing one of his brothers would catch it. He smiled cockily down at Fang. "You know how to play ball?"

There was an innuendo in his tone and she bit her lip at the way he said it. "I'm a fast learner."

Prompto was the one who caught the ball, dribbling it in front of Lightning. "Pfft, what are a couple of girlies gonna do for ya score?"

The soldier had never played basketball before, but she saw it as a challenge to succeed, and she never backed away from one. She took a spot in front of the mocking blond, grinning to him. "I'm going to make you eat those words."

Prompto winked at her right before he passed the ball through her legs at Ignis behind her and the game continued. Snow remained the only one who managed to score the most but they were still losing. That was until Fang realized that if she took out Gladio, their entire team was hopeless. She distracted the man with smiles and winks long enough for him to miss a pass. With this technique, Snow gained some points and upped the score and Vanille even got to dunk once, to the amazement of everyone. On their last decisive game, Fang went all out and pressed herself against Gladiolus to the point where he was reduced to being like a stupefied child. She caught the ball, passed it to Lightning before Noctis intercepted and Snow threw the winning point.

Dajh and Serah jumped up and down at the end score, cheerfully trying to come with some yells to enhance their win. Ignis of course, took the high road and wasn't the least bit sore that his team lost, but the other three were left grumbling.

"Heeey!" The blond whined, accusing Fang of cheating. "You played dirty."

Light and Fang high fived, Snow was twirling Dajh around in his victory and Vanille threw her arms around a proud Sazh.

"Sorry, you didn't really explain the rules." Fang joked and Prompto fretted over his loss.

The blond's huffing turned into exasperated sighs when he realized he hadn't brought his camera to capture this moment, even if it meant that it'll be a reminder of their defeat.

An adservio appeared seemingly out of nowhere, with a platter full of refreshing drinks; cucumber water and lemonades. Feeling refreshed and making a casual joke that the servants around here were like well-timed ninjas, the group proceeded on with their tour. They passed through a door leading down, past the swimming pool and the training base, back up the stairs of the west wing.

"The king's private rooms are right here." Noctis did a little ta-da wave with his hands at the huge double doors in front them. "You guys wanna go take a peek inside?"

Horror struck on the faces of the prince's closest friends. "Errm, Noct?"

Ignis shook a finger. "That wouldn't be wise."

Even the guests were apprehensive to the suggestion. "I don't think the king would like that, kid." Sazh agreed with the Scientia on the matter.

But it was as if the words fell on deaf ears. "Dad isn't even home right now. We'll be in and out before he even notices."

Gladio crossed his arms. "I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Psh, it's just a look around." Noct already opened one of the doors, surreptitiously looking over his shoulder to the rest and waving at them to follow him.

Vanille, a sucker for exploration in a rather forbidden territory, was the first one who went after the prince, giggling all the while. Snow and Ignis sneaked in afterwards. Only then did the others apprehensively walked in, weary about entering the monarch's rooms without his consent.

Lightning would have been a voice of reason as well, had she not been as eager to see the place. Serah held her arm as they walked in as if on their tiptoes, hopeful that no one would hear nor see them while they gazed around the west wing of the castle. The king's private quarters were the only part of the castle she had been through the least, with the exception of the times she was escorted to see to his majesty, to deliver her report. And even then, she had only been there in a single room. The monarch's chambers were something else when free to look around, like a mansion within a castle. The rooms were vast, the hallways even more elaborated and flowers within giant vases covered every corner. Busts of old rulers were found here and there. Noctis even showed them a few prophetic tapestries that were centuries old with religious imagery sewed within them.

tWhen they reached The king's solar, it was as imposing as if it was the throne room itself, rich like a museum filled with artefacts. Swords and spears and axes were bolted against the wall. And under a glass case a three-barreled gun, by the looks of it very old it was indeed, that pulled both Lightning and Prompto's interests. Hanging right above it, was a very small picture. The colors faded where mostly only the outline of the drawing remained.

Noctis popped behind them. "That's Vincent." He declared of the person in the vague portrait. It clicked in Lightning that she recognized the name and what the prince once told her about this Vincent. "And this is said to be his gun. Can't be sure, though. It sounds fake, but who am I to argue against the words of my ancestors?"

She smiled, but Prompto eyed it closely. "Does it still work you think?"

"After it being over a thousand years old?" The heir frowned skeptically. "I doubt it."

Ignis was somewhat anxious to leave before they got caught red-handed within the west wing's rooms, so they moved on quickly. The last of the king's chambers to be seen before they headed back was Fujin's View, a dinner room with an elongated table and high chairs. Besides the fact that there was a huge painting of a child Noctis sitting on the throne and his then-younger father, the true allure to the room was what gave the place its name. The floor-to-ceiling glazing gave way to a view of the crown city of Insomnia up ahead.

Serah stood entranced. "This is so pretty. At night, with all the city lights, it must be even more splendid."

Noctis was closest to her when she said that and he agreed. "Dad's legacy. Gotta look over what I'll inherit one day every night."

Serah gave him a hopeful smile. "I wish you all the best, but I'm sure you'll do fine." Noctis wanted to ask her how she was so certain, but he wasn't going to jinx her wish of good luck. The younger Farron sighed then, gazing admirably into the distance. "Seeing the whole city must be a marvel."

It was, Noctis knew that from experience. But he also realized that his guests didn't quite know the true marvel of Insomnia's skyline yet. It made an idea form in Noctis's head when Serah nudged him. "Hey, we should go." Her tone was gentler than he's ever heard of Lightning's. "Before you get in trouble with his highness the king."

Opting to take her advice, they all managed to get out of the king's quarters without leaving any evidence that they were ever there. Traveling back to the middle of the castle, Noctis guided them to the glass doors that led to the inner courtyard and Lightning knew exactly he kept the best part for last. "To end this exhaustingly long tour," He signaled for everyone to step through, into the perfectly tended inner-courtyard. "I give you, the Peristylium park."

"It's a garden!" Vanille exclaimed excited, for one of her favorite things were flowers.

"You came in the perfect time of the year, I admit. The Peristylium garden blooms brightest in the spring. During winter it's rather dull around here."

He was not wrong. When the winter snows covered the Lucis kingdom and the cold winds were still blowing, nothing green grew in the garden. Lightning had arrived in the late autumn, when the leafs were falling and the bushes were already balding. But ever since the beginning of April coming into May, the flowerbeds had been growing again, the blossom tree grew its leaves and the ladybugs and butterfly returned on sight.

The group basically spread out as they strolled through the garden. Dajh dragged Hope along to the pond where he was sure he saw a train of ducklings swimming, while Serah and Vanille sniffed at the different flowers that they were unfamiliar with. Gladiolus and Fang couldn't be separated from each other as they talked, walking through the garden without much attention to anyone else.

Lightning stood admiring the roses that grew around the fountains like they were guardians of the stone pillar the fountain stood on, the color of the flowers is a curious black color that held her attention. They bloomed lively albeit somberly, but were a beautiful rare sight regardless. On Cocoon the roses she knew were red or white, unless artificially altered, but black roses were new to her. She wondered if these ones were changed to grow into those color too. Nevertheless, it was a pretty sight.

Prompto sniffled a lot around the flowers, but he liked the sight of people within the Peristylium park too much to complain. In all the years that he has known Noct, he has never seen a soul wander through the garden, and then to finally see a colorful bunch enjoying the place for its beauty was worth a thousand pictures and more.

Dajh wondered if he was allowed to feed the ducks in the pond while they hunched in the shadow of the blossom tree and Hope only agreed if they were permitted by the prince. The upside of being royalty in a castle full of servants, were that nearly all demands could be met. So when Noctis asked one of the adservio if they could find some crumbs for Dajh to give to the ducklings, it was arranged. Sazh rested his back against the tree trunk and Ignis kept a watchful eye on Dajh before the boy fell into the water. Prompto and Snow happily ended up joining the little boy with throwing around crumbs for both the ducks and the fish within to feast on as if they were children as well.

While Vanille and Serah tried to identify most of the flowers within the garden, Noctis could tell Gladio was busy telling Fang about the time the boys first fought an Iron Giant by the way his arms indicated the size of the enemy's weapon as he always did – the prince ended up missing Sergeant Farron from the count. Everyone was accounted for except for her, but as a bit searching showed, she didn't move at all from the stone fountain he first saw her staring at.

aMbrOsia

by

sWeetCraZydrAmaQuEEn

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*Aut amat au odit mulier, nil est tertium*

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"Please be happy." ~ Lightning Farron

He didn't really mean to accompany her, guessing that she would want her solitude if that was her wish, but he ended up drifting towards her nonetheless.

"You know, we have more flowers and fountains around here than just this one alone." She didn't realize he had been nearing her at all until he talked to her. "Unless you find this one entirely fascinating."

Lightning's eyes were a sparkly blue when she looked up at him. "Did you guys artificially make those?" She indicated at the flora. "I've never seen them in that color."

He could honestly say that he never pegged her as the kind of girl who liked flowers. Excuse the assumption, but he guessed she liked well-oiled weapons over something so simple as wildflowers. It was a nice tidbit to know. "Black roses are native to Lucis actually."

"What do you people have with the color black?" She shook her head.

"It's our national color." He put a hand on his chest as if he was swearing to his patriotic color of nation. "We take great pride in it."

"You should be. And never take it for granted." Without a doubt the castle was a wondrous home to live in and being royalty must have its perks and riches, but she seemed to grow to like this part of the Caelum's keep in particular as of late. "Especially this garden."

She had the truth of it. The garden was a lovely place, one that he used to visit heavily once. "I played around here a lot when I was little." He looked in the general direction where the secret exit was he found out about a long time ago. "I used to love it here, even at night, where you can watch the stars if there was a full moon out." Otherwise the city lights hid all the stars from sight.

Ever since Lightning came here, she hasn't seen him visited this place. She knew him to go just about anywhere in the castle at one point or the other, even the kitchens where he had no business being the prince, but the inner courtyard garden he entirely avoided. "If you liked it so much, why don't you come here anymore?"

"The garden was my mother's favorite place." He looked down at his hands. "And I haven't actually set foot in here since… she died."

It had to mean something that he allowed Lightning's relatives to wander through the garden, a spot so sacred to his heart. She blinked, glancing in the direction of where Serah stood really quick, before she cast her eyes back on the ebony roses. "That's a shame, because this is really a beautiful place." She wanted to tell him that his mother wouldn't have wanted for him to abandon the garden because of her, especially a place that brought him joy in his childhood. But she couldn't find it in her to say that to him, especially since she knew absolutely nothing about his mother. She would have hated it if someone said such a thing to her too.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard Noctis curse under his breath. It caused her to look up, only to see that King Regis walked through the door as a servant kept it open for him.

Snow and Sazh were the closest to the king, and both of them took a step backwards at Regis's imposing figure. Recognizing him for the monarch of the kingdom a second too late, they dropped to their knees bowing for him before Noctis stopped them.

Regis looked down his nose at them, with a rather unreadable expression, before he glanced at his son. Noctis neared him, with Lightning right behind him. The rest of them heard the commotion Sazh and Snow made and circled the king as well.

"You have visitors?" Regis asked the heir apparent. "I wasn't informed."

"These are Lightning's relatives from Cocoon," Noct instantly clarified. "Cor was aware of the situation, I kind of asked him to pull this off with me. It was a surprise visit actually, which is why I didn't tell you about it, dad."

"More guests from Cocoon?" Like sudden sunshine after rain, Regis's countenance brightened up into a smile. "And relatives of Sergeant Farron? Why didn't you say so before, son?"

Noctis shrugged. "I was going to, but guessed you had more pressing issues at hand than to make time to meet anyone who isn't a politician." Adding under his breath, he grumbled, "You never really had time for the rest of us."

If King Caelum heard his son's last statement, he happily ignored it. "It's unbecoming for a man not to greet his guests into his home, especially for a king, and specifically if such guests hail from Cocoon. My apologies." He went on shake hands with Sazh first, seeing how he had been the eldest of the group around them, asking for his name.

"S-Sazh Katzroy y-your, ehm, your majesty. Forgive me, but I… we never met a king before. I should probably bend a knee." Sazh went down to his knees again, but Regis hoisted the man up before he could do so.

"Nonsense! Please, it's great to meet you all, especially one of Sergeant Farron's relatives. I am sure it was a great relief to be reunited with your close kin again."

Lightning nodded behind the prince. "It is, sire, thank you."

"Now don't take Lightning's example as your own, just call me Regis. I told her enough times that she could drop the formalities, but she refuses."

"Heh, that's sis for ya." Snow chuckled.

Lightning straightened in front of the king but she hid her gaze under her bangs. "It wouldn't be professional to address you with such lack of respect, sire."

The king reserved a smile for her by that and only proceeded to be introduced to the rest of the group. Vanille had as ever had a rosy blush on her face when meeting the sovereign of the state and Hope instantly admired the king's grace and charm. Regis was half-smitten with Dajh when the boy was brought forth, reminding him of Noct's childhood days. However, he was surprised meeting Lightning's little sister. The contrast between the siblings was a startling one; Serah definitely being the warmer of the two on first meeting. They were fine sisters, Regis judged, and were he their parent he'd be proud of both.

"It wouldn't become of me if I didn't invite you to join me for supper one evening." Regis addressed the group as a whole. Noctis started protesting, telling his dad that he didn't need to feel pressured into clearing his schedule for them if it was an inconvenience to him, but King Caelum didn't regard any of his son's words. "It would be my pleasure and honor to accommodate you all for a dinner at my table during your stay."

"That sounds wonderful, your majesty." Vanille did something of a curtsy and Hope laughed at that.

The monarch ran a hand through his hair. "Regis is just fine if you don't mind."

There was an uncomfortable air hanging around the Cocoonian guests at the prospect of calling the king so informal, something they shared with Lightning. Snow cleared his throat. "Eh, how does Mr. Caelum sound instead?"

"Now that is an honor." He shared his chuckles with Snow, wished them a pleasant day and ruffled Noctis's hair on his way out, much to Noct's chagrin.

"Wow, that I got to meet an actual king." Sazh grinned, "Can cross that off the bucket list."

"Hey, you also met a prince." Noctis pointed at himself affronted. What was he, chopped liver?

"Eh," Sazh made a sound as if he wasn't impressed but grinned. "You're okay, kid."

Prompto and Vanille squashed their laughter behind Noctis as much as they could, although failing miserably. Sazh only copied the action of King Regis and ruffled the heir's hair, while Dajh yelled that he did like meeting a real king.

The king's invitation for supper wasn't set on a specific date since he knew his dad needed to find leeway in his schedule to get this dinner going. And this time it was Noctis who was going to be the occupied one. He knew it was only respectful for any man to invite his guests for dinner, but Noctis greedily wanted to keep them to themselves. Besides, he knew that it was much too soon for the other Cocoonians to be at the same table as the royal sovereign. From what he remembered of Prompto, it took some time warming up to the idea that he was dealing with those of such a noble blood. It was intimidating and uncomfortable. Noctis couldn't throw them to the megalodon shark yet before they were at least a bit more settled to the idea of dining with King Regis.

When Noctis told his bodyguard of this concern in the evening right before she was going on her surveillance route, Lightning shook her head at him. "You underestimate them. They've been through a lot. I think sitting down with your father isn't going to cower them."

The heir apparent wasn't so sure. "Have you seen them when they met dad? Vanille was a stuttering mess and Sazh didn't even know where to look."

"Vanille is always a mess." Lightning laughed at her own joke under her breath, but when Noctis didn't share the chuckle with her, she noticed how truly befuddled he looked. She tapped her fist against his chest. "Hey, they just needed to break the ice. I don't know if you've met Snow, or Fang for that matter, but they aren't particularly reserved. They'll be fine with your dad." When she managed to break his worries, she turned the table and pondered closely on how a dinner date with the king and her kin would go. "Actually, I think they may be too much for your father. They can be quite… assertive."

"Nah, as you said, they'll be fine." The fact they were all so forward and welcome, despite his title or birth, is what Noctis liked about them so much. "I trust your judgment." He was actually surprised he genuinely and completely he meant that.

~ǽ~

The day following right after, breakfast proved to be as much as a party as it had been the previous day when Noctis left the planning to Ignis and he announced that they were to travel through the city today.

"The city?" Serah was just as excited to see the inner workings of Insomnia. "It's really a huge place!" They had a glimpse of it when they drove through it coming from the airport. "Where do we even start?"

"That," Noctis tapped his nose. "I would have to show you. Once you guys are ready, would you like to follow me outside?"

Once more Hope was ushered to shove a toast in his mouth when he wasn't fast enough to finish his food, but Sazh took pity on the silver haired Estheim and smuggled a few sandwiches with him to snack on their way. Vanille was the first one to ask what they had in mind today, but neither Ignis nor Noctis were to cave in and tell her. She opted to slide towards Prompto, hoping whether or not he could crack on what they were planning, but both Gladiolus and Fang intervened. Fang from keeping Vanille from being nosy and spoil the day and Gladio in order for Prompto not to break code.

Ignis escorted the group through the palace and Noctis only trailed behind when he was sure that the whole group was following the mother hen, but Sergeant Farron was the only one who didn't move a step until he did. She crossed her arms and although she was shorter than him, she had a secret way of managing to still look down her nose at him. "Is this going to be an everyday occurrence?"

"What is?"

"You being an actual capable host." She shook her head. She's seen Noctis play the dutiful welcome prince to other guests a bunch of time, but this is something else. "You aren't nearly this invested in anyone else that comes to stay over in your castle."

"Hm, guess you're right." The two of them wandered behind the noise of the group ahead of them, crossing through the foyer to meet the shining sun outside. "But this time around I actually want to my guests to enjoy themselves."-

Dajh ran down the steps, with Vanille in tow, both of them giggling all the way down. The rest of the group followed, admiring the driveway and the view of the castle in direct sunlight. It was a beautiful day in May. The weather proved to be warm and sunny, and it'll be warmer still, so Vanille and Serah opted for spring dresses that made them look like nymphs of summer. Vanille's floral dress was right up her alley and Serah was as colorful in a blue one that clashed wonderfully with her pink hair.

The sun surely brought the good mood out of everyone as Prince Caelum led everyone outside, where their ride stood waiting, instead to the underground garage where all the other vehicles of the imperial family resided. Lightning was one of the last ones out of the castle, making sure everyone was accounted for, when she took one glance at the red car that stood parked on the courtyard, awaiting the Cocoonian tourists. Lightning halted mid descent to stare incredulously at the vehicle.

Noctis passed her, not bothered by the car in front of them at all, but he passed a few steps down the bodyguard when he noticed she hadn't moved along. He turned to her when she blurted, "What the hell is that?"

He followed her line of sight that spelled horror all over her face, to the car parked neatly at the bottom of the castle's stair. "It's a minivan." He exclaimed with a grin, as if it weren't obvious.

The car was a huge, embarrassing and quite an eye-puller, and that not even in the good way. It was big and horrible, nothing in the least that the Caelums ever owned, she was certain. The garage housed SUVs and sports cars, limousines and sedans, even a motorcycle or two, but a middle-class family car was not one of them. "Where did you even get it from?" She hoped he hadn't bought the thing; it would be a sore thumb among the hyper modern flashy vehicles he has.

"It's a rental." Noctis clarified, stroking through his hair. "That way we can all drive together. Ignis and the others are in the Regalia following us." He pointed and it was just then that Lightning noticed the black convertible parked right behind them, with Gladio, Prompto and Ignis within and waiting.

Lightning crossed her arms, looking down to the prince from the few steps higher. "And where exactly are you taking us in your minivan?"

A smirk grew on his lips. "It's a surprise."

"Not good enough." Lightning couldn't help but remind herself of her duty. "As your bodyguard I should know where you're heading in advance so I can–"

Noctis groaned loudly, albeit of a more playful nature than an exasperated one. "Come on Lightning, you're with me the entire time. What could happen with you there?"

She blinked, lips parting. "A lot. I have–"

"–Full confidence that you can guard me completely should anything happen. In the meantime," He pointed towards the red minivan where her relatives already started shouting and arguing about seating arrangement. "How about you come along and just enjoy the ride with the rest of your friends?"

She frowned. Headstrong, that she was for certain. "And our destination is where, exactly?"

"Would you rather I tell you where we're going and spoil the surprise, or see for yourself?" In a last effort of persuading her to stop being so uptight and to just go with them, he casually offered her his hand to go down the steps with him.

Lightning hesitated, glancing down at his invitation before a smile cracked her features. "Fine." She touched his palm, her fingers lingering for one second too long on his, right as she pushed his hand away from her. "But you know the protocol if something does happen."

She stepped down and passed him towards the rental. Grinning, he followed her. "Don't try to be a hero, make like a baby and do everything what you say. Noted."

Serah was hugging Hope closer to him to make room for Lightning, when Noctis got into the driver's seat and clicked his seatbelt on. "You're driving?" Snow asked, as if it was the strangest thing in the world.

Noctis glanced besides. "Yeah. Why?"

Sazh chose to answer while digging for a juice box to give to his son, who was sitting restlessly in Vanille's lap. "I didn't know you could drive."

The prince chuckled, starting the vehicle and driving out of the castle's courtyard. "What makes you think I can't?"

"Because," Vanille reasoned. They all seemed to have the same general thoughts. "You're a prince and princes have chauffeurs. They don't drive themselves."

"Sure, I've been driven around most of my life." Noctis had Argus and Ignis after them. "But I've been taught mostly everything."

"He can do everything by himself like a big boy." Lightning muttered under her breath as a teasing joke. Hope was the only one who heard her and laughed.

"So, where exactly are we going, Prince Nocty?" Fang wondered instead, remembering that he hasn't told them what their destination was.

But Vanille seemed to know. Sort of. "It's a surprise." She giggled.

They were squeezed into the car like sardines in a can, but it was a cozy lot. Snow was much too big to sit in the back, so he got the passenger seat. Even then his head scraped the roof of the car. Fang's elbow poked into Serah side and Vanille managed to curl up her knees for more room. Dajh begged his father to go and sit with Ignis in the cool car next time because this one was lame.

"I know how to unlame it." Fang suggested. "We need music!"

"On it." Noctis complied, switching on the radio, but the Lucian music that floated out was unrecognizable by any of the Cocoonian guests.

Snow pulled out his phone. "Please tell me this car has an aux cord."

There was some rummaging around, but Etro blessed them and they found one. Snow and Fang cheered, and once the first song came on, Lightning rubbed her temples. Dajh would be the first to yell out the parts of the songs he knew and Snow couldn't resist singing along. It was ear murder in the car, but Vanille and Serah were enjoying the blaring around them and even Hope betrayed Light when he joined in during the chorus here and there.

They drove through the city, putting distance between them and the Caelum palace. The streets of Insomnia's downtown were filled with honking taxis and angry drivers. The sidewalks buzzing with thousands of people going about their daily business; suited men pushing through poorly dressed tourists and otherwise casual locals. Most of them sported sunglasses against the light glaring against the glass buildings. It was warm enough again to wear shirts and flip-flops, while Snow hadn't gotten rid of his trench coat of course, and Fang wondered if he wasn't overheated under there.

Throughout the journey, Dajh was singing some children song he learned at school, that Vanille recognized. She was ecstatic that the song still existed throughout the centuries, but was wise not to mention this out loud. She ended up singing along, while poking everyone around her who also knew it to sing with them. Fang hummed along, and Snow sang too loudly in the car. Lightning wouldn't utter a syllable and Sazh thought they were being too ridiculous for words and shook his head, but eventually, he joined too.

Hope watched his fill, his eyes not leaving the windows as he soaked in the streets of Insomnia; the colorful lights on the buildings, the bustling city with its citizens, the many shops and small cafes. The few statues they passed on their way to the east wall caught his attention and he even nudged Serah to look at them too while they drove by them, but he was entirely impressed when he first spotted the huge angel in the distance that they were closing in on with every passing minute.

Lightning recognized it as soon as she saw it. "It's a pretty lighthouse, that's for sure." She told him under the rush of singing and music as she remembered it, just as surprised as the rest of them when it became clear that they were indeed heading towards that very location.

The giant lighthouse loomed into the sky like a great guardian angel, the oil lamp it is holding relatively doused during the day, but never was it ever extinguished. The angel watched grievously down the river that sided on the east side of Insomnia. The oil lamp was the only purpose, but the angel statue holding it was nothing more but a show of Lucii architecture and history.

Hope and Vanille eyed the height of the place. Skyscrapers within the city was one thing; they have seen enough of such tall buildings even on Eden, but a statue in the design of an angel was a sight to behold. "Taejin Tower pales compared to this." Vanille had whispered once she got out of the car and looked into the sky. Fang agreed.

Dajh shuffled towards Ignis again, pointing to the huge figure in front of them. "You guys have giant angels?"

"It's a lighthouse that serves for guiding ships safely into the harbor." Ignis told the child, pointing towards the river.

Prompto, who stood closest, added his own explanation. "It's actually only the oil lamp that dear ol' Angelica is holding here that is of actual use." He went to a knee to next to Dajh, pointing at everything as he told the tale, popping out a camera. "How about you stand over there and I'll make a picture of you and Angelica's feet." The angel would otherwise be too big to fit into the frame.

Dajh ran over, catching Vanille's attention on why the boy was suddenly posing up ahead, when she saw Prompto and his camera. "Oh!" She pulled Hope along with her. "Would you take a picture of us too?"

Prompto seemed delighted to hear that the pretty lass wanted to have a photograph taken, until he saw that she brought the silver haired teen with her. Argentum's expression fell dejectedly, but his tone remained cheerful. "Sure. I'll take as many pictures of you as you want." Hope frowned, but Vanille was none the wiser. "In fact, why doesn't everyone gather together for a pic!"

Prompto pushed Ignis into the fray after Snow and Serah joined up. Gladiolus found his way instantly next to Fang, and Vanille kept yelling for Noctis to stand in the middle. Only Lightning lingered, as always keeping herself out of the loop.

"Light, come on over here! What are you waiting for?" Vanille waved over to her when Lightning didn't join them.

The soldier shook her head. "It's your picture, I shouldn't really–"

Prompto chuckled. "I'm starting to see why Noct calls you stiff. You're worse than Iggy." He wasted no time pushing Lightning towards the group. "Go on. It ain't a group picture if the group isn't complete."

"What about you?" Lightning let herself be pushed to the group, standing relatively close to Snow.

"Got it covered. Now, you all say cheese!"

Dajh more yelled than said it, and after three flashes, the picture was set in stone. Prompto begged them to remain as they were, when he turned the camera and made a selfie with the rest party on the background. "Should've brought a selfie stick."

Ignis leaded the group to the back entrance of the lighthouse, where they were received by the staff to welcome the royal prince and his entourage. Luckily for them, a complimentary introduction was made that remained short, and everyone was cheerfully brought inside.

Unluckily for them on the other hand, the main event of why they were here was at the top of the lighthouse, in a building that only had stairs.

"I can warp up there." Noctis whispered to Ignis, but his lifelong friend only turned to frown at him.

"You'll walk like the rest of us." Scientia gave the prince something of a shove to take the head. "Start moving."

An 'aw man' whine escaped from under Noct's breath, but compliantly he went up the stairs foot over foot, instead of flashing up to the top in a blink of an eye.

It took some huffing, Sazh complained that he was too old for this and then it took some puffing, but finally arriving at the top with the astonishing glazing, it was worth every drop of sweat they broke when they climbed those long stairs.

"I know that the palace's roof probably serves as well, but the top of the lighthouse was opened for public decades ago so you could see all of the crown city. I thought instead of seeing one side of the perspective from the heart of the city wouldn't be as fun as looking over all of it in one go. I came here once as a child and being mesmerized by the sight of whole Insomnia in front of me as if were toy houses." Noctis rubbed his neck as he finally told his guests of their purpose here. "The top has a three-sixty panorama window sight, so you could see the city and beyond. It's pretty amazing actually."

True to his words, when they reached up to the angel's halo, that was more of a lounge than anything else. The walls were made of thick glass, a railing around it to keep people from touching the glass, while soft classical Lucian music played through the air. It was a comfortable place, fit for relaxing and enjoying the view while ice cream, snacks and drinks were sold in the middle of it all like a bar.

Since this was a low-key visitation of the royal prince, everyone was accounted for and the bar was open – on the house – in honor of the heir's presence. "Perks of being the son of the king." Lightning told Serah, remembering how nearly everywhere Noctis went, he got stuff and food for free.

"If only I was royalty." Sazh chuckled, ordering an ice cream cone for Dajh and himself. "I don't mind being pampered."

"It's not as much of sunshine and roses as you might think." Noctis countered. "I was sheltered and privileged all my life. I had little knowledge of the real world outside of books and TV. It's like being trapped in a golden cage."

"And the number of servants would drive me crazy." Lightning muttered that Serah giggled.

They spend most of the day at the top of the lighthouse.

Gladiolus offered Fang a glass of wine that she didn't refuse. "I can't really vouch for the quality," He said with a shrug, drinking from his own glass. "But wine is wine."

Fang sniffed at it, before she sipped it. "Not bad, to be honest."

A smile grew on Gladio's face, leading her away from the centered Cocoonian group for more privacy whilst enjoying the scenery the panorama view provided. "Oh, my lady knows her wines?"

"The lady does." Fang played along with his joke, as she ever did. "Where I'm from who had to brew our own alcohol. Wine wasn't one of our liquors, though."

The more Gladio heard about Fang, and the miniscule times she mentioned where she was originally from, the more intrigued he got of her. In a record time he came to the realization that he wanted to know everything that there was to know about her. "What was the kind of liquors you brew, then?"

"Rum, mostly vodka. A lot of apple ciders too, we had every variation known to mankind with the taste of apple in it. They grew bountiful during the summer around in the lands." She nodded then to Lightning. "Sunshine over there is my happiest tester, whenever I do distill vodka."

"Hard stuff," Gladiolus was impressed. Then again, since the moment he met her he was impressed. "What made you so much into wine then, coming from vodka and rum?"

"…On Cocoon I met with loads of new things. And once I was introduced to wine, I fell in love. Instantly."

Gladio paused a second, knowing that he could relate. He cleared his throat, the questions about her tribe itching in his throat, but he dared not let them out into the air between them. She easily let on that she came from somewhere that was not Cocoon, but at the same time, she was extremely evasive on mentioning where exactly she was from as well. She never called the place by its name, opting to use synonyms to her home instead. As far as he gathered, she and her sister Vanille arrived on Cocoon some few years ago. The tone in her voice the one time she spoke of this, told him that it wasn't the most willing removal from her old home to Cocoon, but she managed to make a new home there among her new kin. He wasn't going to bother and ask her, it may be a breach on her privacy, some trauma or heavy personal feelings attached to the memory as to where she was exactly from and why they left. Gladio would respect that of her, and figured that Fang would tell him when she wanted him to know.

In the meantime, he would soak up any information about her that he could get. There was never a woman he met like Fang, and the more he got to know her, the more he liked her.

"Imagine owning a vineyard one day." He joked and she laughed with him.

But he could see on her expression, as she sipped more of her wine, that there was a desire to make that joke a reality. "Yeah…" She sighed into her glass, staring off to Insomnia's skyline. "Imagine."

Behind them they heard Snow's loud exclaim of disgust behind them.

"I don't like the ice cream." Snow washed his mouth a bottle of water Serah handed over to him.

His wife raised her shoulders, enjoying now not one but two ice cream cones. "They're fine to me. Pretty delicious, actually."

Noctis, Hope and Prompto were all laughing at the face Snow was making while he glared down at the two ice creams Serah was eating from. "Granted, this isn't the best ice cream." Noctis explained by way of apologizing. "Altissia is famous for theirs, though. I know a little Altissian cart somewhere. I'll treat you next time."

"Yeah, sorry for finding your ice cream gross." Snow gurgled his throat with some more water.

"I like them!" Dajh was heard yelling from the bar, where Ignis handed over the boy's third – or fourth – cone. "Thank you Mr. Iggy!"

"Hey, now," Sazh said warningly, but without much threat. "Don't you go and spoil him now, Mr. Ignis."

"Good luck with that! Ignis is known for spoiling kids. Ask Noct." Prompto threw a set of finger guns in Dajh and Ignis's direction, just as he got his own ice cream cone that he planned to hand over to Vanille.

Sheepishly, the Lucii prince laughed and scratched the back of his head. "He's right."

Snow went on ordering everything else the menu had to offer – since it was free anyway – as he asked Noctis which dish was best, while Serah tugged on her sister's arm and looked at Insomnia stretched before them.

"So how well do you know the city by now?" Serah pointed at a building or two that stood out against the skyline.

"Just as much as you know Eden. Can you tell me the name and purpose of every building if I'd point at it?" Her little sister had been going to school in Eden for the last three years.

"True enough, I can't. But I have been stalling to tell you that I'm not in Eden anymore." Before Light started protesting, she continued. "Remember I have to intern somewhere for a year at the very least, if I want to graduate? I got a position as sub teacher back in Bodhum, an elementary school."

Serah being back in Bodhum was a relief to Lightning's heart. It wasn't that she ever left, but she took the trip to Eden every day to go to school and it wasn't the easiest of trips. Snow had his bar going on near the beach of Bodhum, and he couldn't give up her – for once – responsible income, to move to an insecure future in Eden. School wasn't permanent, and they settled. Lightning, always the protective big sister, worried about Serah as she took her trips to the floating city, afraid that something may happen to her and Light was too far away from her to make a difference. But the news that her sister found an intern job in their home city was much more assuring and a wonderful news to boot.

Lightning bumped her shoulder to Serah's. "Congrats sis."

"And you, how is Insomnia really?"

"I wouldn't really know," Lightning admitted. "I go only where the prince goes, and to be honest, that isn't to a lot of places if you can believe it. I got this extra curriculum mission a few months back, but it was mostly during the night and in places you don't want to be at such late hours. It's a beautiful so far as I've seen. Lots of lights, kind of a mix of Eden and Nautilus, only with more historic background."

They had been hanging around on top of the light tower long enough that the sun was starting to drop behind the city's skyscrapers, casting them in nothing but a black silhouette. "Insomnia is still like nothing we have back home." Serah countered, her breath caught by this moment in the sky. "Now this is what I call a beautiful sight."

Lightning couldn't disagree. The orange glow over the buildings before the city lights were all turned on was a fantastic view. Insomnia was gorgeous both from the ground as up from the sky.

"Not as beautiful as you." Snow threw an arm around his wife, trying to kiss her on her forehead.

"That was corny." Serah giggled, ducking away from him. "You've got grease all over your face. What have you been eating now?"

"Corny," Snow said. "But true. And they've got these amazing chicken wings over here. You've got to taste them, babe. Maybe I'll hound them for a recipe if they have one. People will queue up from the mall to the bar if we sell these."

Serah threw an apologetic look over her shoulder to her sister, but Lightning waved them off and let them indulge in Lucian chicken wings. She was too distracted by the entire sight in front of her to mind her sister's absence for much.

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her no matter how much she tried. Being in the tallest building of Insomnia, everything had a stunning glow that would otherwise escape your notice from the ground. The sun was slowly disappearing beneath the horizon, splashing the sky with vibrant colors of orange and red in the west, and more pink and purple in the east.

"Do you like it?" The prince's voice startled Lightning when he spoke out of nowhere.

She didn't turn towards him, but she was very aware how close he was behind her. "This view is incredible." Lightning's voice was somewhat airy, obviously in awe with the sight of the city's skyline and beyond.

Noctis stood next to her, leaning on his arms that rested on the railing covering in front of the glass. "It is." He had been up here a few times when he was little with his father. His last visit here had been with Stella. It wasn't so special to him anymore. Insomnia was his city, the view wasn't nearly as entrancing to him as it must be to his guests. "You haven't got something like this back home?"

Vanille probably saw something pretty, because she made her typical gasp-squealing sound behind them. Noctis didn't even bother to look.

He looked over at Lightning, who shook her head in response. "Not like this." She told him. "Bodhum is a coastal city. Most of our buildings are malls or souvenir shops. And it's a relative modern city."

Noctis made a face. "Yeah, Insomnia is like an old hag."

The corner of her lips lifted. "I don't mean that. Bodhum doesn't have historical buildings and fascinating architect. Insomnia is filled with culture around every corner. Bodhum lacks character that is nothing else than a modern tourist hotspot. It's all surf shacks and maybe a single ruin of a statue."

It was interesting hearing her open up about her home town, even if it wasn't in the most positive light. It shows the clear difference of where they came from, a place Noctis knew so little about. He once made a point to more about where the soldier came from… if only in turn so he'd get to know her better as well. "Bodhum is a seaside city?" He asked, looking at her. Although she nodded, her gaze did not once leave the fantastic sight of Insomnia before them. "Does that mean you can surf?"

Finally, she glanced in his direction. "I tried a few times. I know the basics."

"You should teach me how to surf one day."

The declaration somewhat took her by surprise. Her eyes were a warm green in the direct sunlight. "There's no beach here."

The statement filled Noctis with a strange kind of hope. She didn't instantly reject the very suggestion. Her words had an inkling of saying that she would teach him, if given the opportunity. "No, we don't have beaches in Lucis. We used to go to some tropical resort in Solheim when I was little. Back before Niflheim was a true threat and my mother…"

He trailed off into silence, but Lightning knew what he meant. The silence that hung between them then was of a painful kind, filled with reminiscing hurts of the past. It reminded Lightning in the days past where this pain was all she knew. It was the second time Noctis ever mentioned his mother to her, and knowing the ache it caused if asked about her, Lightning quickly proceeded to blurt the first thing that came to mind in order for them to forget this gloom. "I used to make sandcastles." Having successfully pulled the prince's attention, Lightning had to go on. "We… we used to go down to the beach, long before we could swim. I made sandcastles and I was really good at it, actually."

The touch of sadness left Noctis's blue eyes. "You didn't just heap a load of sand together, stuck a flag on top of it and called it a castle, did you?"

"No," She said a little indignant. "I brought a bucket with me and filled it with water. Made the sand easier to form into an actual castle. It's… it's really a technique my mom taught me." The memories brought a warmth to Lightning's heart. She loved making sandcastles as a child. The three of them would just sit by the beach, sculpturing the oddest of forms of sand. That was until toddler Serah always got up and destroyed their works by walking all over them.

She told him something so personal, Noctis hoped she wouldn't stop sharing about herself. He also wondered if she was still in touch with her mother. She had only ever spoken of Serah. "Did it look a little like the Caelum's keep?"

"The only castle I've ever seen were in books and fairytales where the king and queen always lived happily ever after. Your castle is nothing like those."

"True," Noct agreed amused. "Mine's uglier."

It was a joke but Lightning's tone was serious. "Don't say that. Your ancestral home is beautiful. You should be lucky to call it yours."

Before he could respond in kind, the Cocoonian soldier was called over behind them. "Light!" It was Serah, waving her sister towards her. "You've got to see this!"

Whatever Serah was pointing at, when Lightning was called, so too did Hope wander over. Vanille wasn't too far off, grabbing Lightning's arm as she held on to her and yapped away about something. Dajh ran in the same direction, offering his half eaten fifth ice cream to Lightning, yelling that she had to taste some too. Sazh and Snow both made a joke together and the entire Cocoonian group erupted in mirth together. Light called them idiots, but she laughed with them. Even Fang managed to unstick herself from mainly Gladiolus's side to join the rest of her family.

Gladio slinked to where Noctis stood, where Ignis and Prompto eventually got to their friends as well. The Lucii circle ended up watching the Cocoonian guests and the difference was blatant. From Vanille to Serah, every single one of them were colorful and outspoken. They were a cozy bunch together, often times of laughter and rowdiness that proved how closed knitted club they were.

While Noctis regarded his friends as his brothers, they were not alike to the Cocoonians still. Dressed in black, sheltered and reserved to their duties, the contrast was obvious. It was good to blend together, the prince decided, and with all the cheerfulness the guests brought with them, Noctis understood why Lightning missed them. And right off the bat, he could see that the rest of them had missed her immensely too.

They all loved her. Noctis could see it with the way they rotated around Lightning as if she was the sun. Even Snow, who Lightning reserves most of her teasing for, all regarded Lightning as the center of their universe.

With the sun lowered below the horizon, the group departure from Insomnia's aweing lighthouse. Noctis and Ignis gave their proper word of gratitude and compliments to the manager and staff for accommodating them privately. Prompto took the last few pictures that they could before they returned to the Regalia and the awkward red minivan.

Serah matched her pace with the Lucii heir, smiling up to him. "I have to say that that was pretty amazing, Prince Noctis."

"Noct." He corrected.

"Well then, that was amazing, Noct." Serah walked with him to the vehicles, her ponytail swinging as there was almost a skip in her step. "Thank you."

He was happy to know at least that she enjoyed herself. "No need to thank me. It's no problem really."

Hopping back into the car was as much a hassle as it had been the first time around. Dajh and Snow were singing again before they even left the parking lot.

"I do like this city trip you're showing us." Sazh complimented the prince in the car, hardly audible over Snow and Dajh's singing. "You're gonna bring us to a museum too, or what?"

"Why not," Noct looked at the man via his rearview mirror. "If that's what you want."

"With all these ancient statues of old kings around, your museums must be rich with history." Sazh nodded, scratching at his goatee. He looked around the car, raising his voice to earn everyone's attention. "What say you guys, up to visit a Lucii museum too?"

"Sounds awesome."

"I'm pretty excited to see that."

"Okay, dad."

"Fine by me."

"I second that. Now put the music back on, this song is my favorite one."

Deciding that one surprise for the day wasn't enough, dinner that night took a surprising turn when it was spent at a more unusual place than Fenrir's Hall in the Caelum's keep.

"Prompto has a restaurant?" Hope eyed the mahogany furniture and sniffed at the delicious scent of pasta sauce in the air.

"I sure do!" Prompto proudly stroked through his bright blond hair. "And I cleared half the place for us! Come, come. Take a seat wherever you want."

It was something of a strange thing to see Lightning take a seat right next to Prompto. "You're the host around here," She said quietly as she eyed the silverware on the table. "I'm not really a restaurant dweller. What would you recommend?"

It quickly dawned on Prompto that the mystic Sergeant Lightning Farron was willingly being more open around him. She must be remembering what happened when she was here last time.

Beaming with the intensity of the golden sun, he scooted his chair closer to Lightning's, popping open the booklet with the menus. "Now, now, don't you worry. This is what I call awesome! Well, for starters what's your favorite dish? Wait, lemme guess… it's salmon, right?"

Lightning couldn't help but enjoy his enthusiasm. "It's steak, actually."

Prompto whistled low. "I like myself a girl with a refined appetite. I'll speak with the chef personally so that you, Sergeant Farron, will only get the best."

Sazh called rom the other side of the table. "Just call her Light."

The lady in question chuckled. "He's right. Light is just fine."

Prompto kept that in mind. He also made sure the other Cocoonians were settled properly as well and got waited upon as swiftly as possible, but he personally tended to Lightning. He had no time to flirt with Vanille or horse around with his friends when the elusive Light willingly asked for his recommendation in his restaurant. There was a compliment there that was as flattering as if King Regis himself came to elevate him to a lordship all over again.

Lightning was sipping off a wine glass while the aperitif was passed around. She looked good with a wine glass in her hand – good enough to capture an artistic moment when Prompto sees one. He held up his camera and shyly asked her permission. "Do you mind if I take a picture?"

She swallowed and in the darker light of the restaurant's atmosphere, her eyes were a pretty moss green. He couldn't resist to make a selfie with her if he tried. She lowered her glass at first to take the picture with him, but Prompto asked her to raise it in her hand again before he snapped the photograph into frozen eternity.

He passed around taking pictures of everyone and everything. Of Dajh playing with his fork, of Noctis grimacing when Ignis suggested he needed to eat more greens, of Hope and Sazh talking together and most definitely of Fang and Gladio making googly eyes at one another.

The first course was served too, a small plate of Altissian spiced pasta with an exclusive sauce just known to the chef. The main course, however, was of everyone's free choice. As Prompto promised, the chef personally brought her perfectly medium cooked steak to Lightning's table.

"If steak is your favorite, you should let Ignis cook for you one time." Gladiolus was heard saying to the soldier.

"I certainly don't mind." Ignis agreed from the other side. "I'm in need of a challenge in the cooking department again."

Lightning and Ignis fell into conversation of her favorite type of steak and how she liked it best, that then followed into the topic of everyone's favorite dishes overall. Noctis couldn't help but listen in to all the meals she liked, but his nose crinkled when she mentioned how she liked spicy food.

Hope did some kind of betrayal when he let it slip that she has a tender spot for sweets.

"Careful, kid," Sazh laughed when Light frowned at Hope as he revealed some sort of secret. "You're giving out mass murdering codes with that."

Prompto took pictures of everyone's plates as well, and Snow teased Fang and Gladio about their lovey-dovey eyes they were giving each other at the table. Nothing but compliments were giving about the food as everyone loved it. Even Dajh ate his whole plate, but Prompto had been seated anxiously next to Lightning, eagerly waiting until she finished the last bite of her buttery medium cooked behemoth steak. As a good host should, Prompto asked the others if their dishes suited them, but mostly he wondered if the stoic soldier approved.

She was, after all, the only one who begrudgingly remained apathetic last time she was in the restaurant.

He had no need to be any worried or try to win her good opinion. Lightning knew that if there were anyone's good graces that needed to be earned, it was his. "I owe you my apology," Light said under her breath, hoping no one else at the table might hear her. She was humble enough to admit when she was wrong, but as long as the embarrassment was kept to the minimum. "I'm sorry how I behaved the other time I was in here. And you're right… the pasta sauce is amazing."

Prompto, too, was awed by the smile she gave him along with a sincere apology. She hid a small blush behind her wine glass and he'd sell all his gun collection if he could take a picture of that particular smile of hers.

"Ah, thank you." The blond coughed, refilling her wine and poured himself a new one. "And don't worry about it, that's water under the bridge. But if you really wanna make up for it, then how about you also order some dessert?"

Lightning timidly looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Chocolate?"

Argentum grinned, having been assured that it was indeed her weakness. "We've got the best chocolate cheesecake this side of the city."

"Hold you to it." They clinked their wine glasses together and drank to the prospect of chocolate cake.

~ǽ~

The following day Noctis held up his promise of bringing the group to the biggest museum known in Insomnia, Caelum's Museum a Artem, that holds artwork of famous artists of Lucii, Altissian, Accordian and even Niflheimian descents.

Snow and Noctis weirdly pondered together on a semi-broken limestone statue hailing from Accordia, studying it closely. Prompto made pictures of everyone while they posed in front of the famous paintings and busts. Ignis held Dajh's hand as they went from art to art, quietly educating the boy of every piece and its history behind it. One would think that this would be boring for Dajh, but Ignis had a talent of making every piece of information sound like an enthralling story, and Dajh listened attentively to every word the bespectacled man told him.

Fang, by some miracle, managed to unglue herself from Gladiolus's side, and dragged Lightning through the museum, cracking stupid jokes at most of the pieces of art she saw that made Lightning either try to hold her breath so she won't burst out laughing, or rubbing her temples. Prompto even managed to snap a picture of Fang throwing an arm around Lightning's shoulder, leaning together as she gestured something obscene about the painting of a naked man.

Shyly Noctis worked his way over to Serah, Lightning Farron's sweet younger sister while Snow busied himself with Sazh and Ignis, unsure still how Serah would receive him. She may have a much sweeter complacency than her sibling, but that didn't mean Lightning's habits didn't rub off on her. For some reason, he wanted to make a much better first impression on the sister than he had with the bodyguard.

He had shuffled along with her from art piece to art piece for a while, trying to find an ice breaker, but then Serah helped him out herself. "You have some amazing collection in your local museum. I understood that you just ended a war with Niflheim?"

Noctis swallowed, nodding eagerly. "We did. Almost two years ago. Thankfully, there's peace now."

"There is, but despite them having started this war…?" She answered in a question and he gave his affirmation. "Still," She continued. "Niflheim has some great historic artists hailing from their Empire." She pointed at the section of century old paintings and other artwork.

Noctis criticized the marble molded statue in front of him in silence. He hadn't been to the museum since he was a child with class, and even then he didn't remember paying attention to everything around him. He only remembered the annoyance he felt of seeing his father's guards stationed around, albeit discreetly but still recognizable, along the place wherever he went. Seeing the museum and its art in full now, and feeling like he wanted to be on the gracing side of Serah Farron-Villiers, he tried to be as professional judge as he could muster.

"A country's history doesn't equal to the horror of its men and culture." He told her quietly and he meant it. Everyone in Niflheim isn't inherently evil. He couldn't judge the actions of a few, of a government, to a whole folk. The statue was a beautiful one, as all the others were. "But this nose is crooked."

Serah looked at him, then at the statue's nose and started laughing. "I guess so." She agreed, even though she didn't really see it. "But I figured that's what makes this artwork so valuable. Not everything flawless is perfect, after all."

Noctis smiled, though he didn't look away from the crooked-nosed statue. "Wise words. You should be a teacher."

"Oh, I am." At the prince's taken back look, Serah grinned. "Alright, I'm an intern still, at an elementary school. But I do have a whole class of kids to look after."

"You seem like the type."

"Thanks. And I would love to bring my class to this museum one day." She explained how Bodhum didn't have any museums of their own to bring the kids on an excursion trip, one that was hopefully as fun as it was educational.

Noctis would have loved nothing more than to promise her that she could bring her class whenever she wanted, but he wasn't sure if such a journey from Cocoon to Eos was necessary only for a museum outing, when she explained that Eden had enough museums to accommodate them, and was much closer than Lucis besides.

They actually had a great time together as they continued exploring the museum, until Dajh came running towards Serah with a mellow giggle and Ignis came following after it with a flush on his cheeks because the boy saw a marble piece of someone nude.

The entire group hung out at the museum, Vanille and Hope buying some souvenirs while they were there to take home with them, until Snow started complaining that he was hungry. Lightning mumbled about being hungry too, and instead of returning to the palace for dinner, they opted for a pizza joint somewhere downtown. It was a tight fit with all of them in the relatively small place, but they made due when Dajh was able to sit on Lightning's knee.

It was cozy and loud with laughter, and slightly messy when Snow and Gladio started a mini food-fight, but nevertheless, they all ended up having a wonderful time before they headed back to the castle at the end of the day.

~ǽ~

One such day, when everyone retreated to their own rooms for the night and Lightning made her surveillance tour around and through the castle, she couldn't find Noctis in his room. She never physically checked up on him to see where he was at night, but she heard him moving in his rooms or saw his silhouette if his lights were still on, and she knew he was accounted for. It was routine by now, to feel his presence in the room next to hers, or hearing small sounds coming from his side that she was aware where he was at night.

That wasn't the case tonight. She passed the windows of his room and heard no sound nor saw any movement coming from within. She knocked on his door, just to be sure, if she wasn't mistaken. She would know if he were asleep though, but she didn't sense his presence anywhere in his chambers. When it was established he was gone, she contemplated on looking for him or leave him be with wherever he was. No doubt he would still be in the castle, he wouldn't leave without letting her know, and as long as he was in the castle he didn't need her shadowing him everywhere, but for whatever reason, she felt like she wanted to find him.

Figuring that she would go looking for him after her security check and was walking her regular surveillance round through the palace that night, she decided first to take an extra pit stop by her friends' guest rooms. Fang and Vanille decided to take to their room at least that night, but Serah remained in Lightning's room. As she passed by Sazh and Dajh's room to check up on them, Dajh was already sound asleep with a lingering milk mustache while his father cleaned up the boy's littering clothes.

"You need anything else?" Light asked when he opened the door when she came by.

"We're fine, soldier." The clearly tired old man said. "I'm turning in in just a moment. Dajh already had his milk. How about you find your bed yourself, kid."

Lightning thanked him and told him goodnight, before she knocked on Snow's door, who was grumbling that he missed his wife, but Lightning's pretended not to have heard that. Fang and Vanille were zapping on their tv while sipping tea. They promised to repeat the sleepover the next night all over again. And when Light passed by Hope's door, no one answered. She sensed no presence at all in his room, leaving her to wonder where he could possibly have wandered off to. She worried a bit; the castle was a huge place, easy to get lost in if you didn't know the layout that well. And in the dark it would only be worse to find his way back.

But she told herself not to worry too much. Hope was a smart young man and if he really didn't know how to get back, there was always someone somewhere in the castle who he could ask guidance of. If she was honest with herself, she hoped he didn't lose his own track in wherever he went to explore, and figured that if he walked off he would at least take his phone with him. She'd call him if she finished her rounds and still didn't find him on her way.

It was only by a matter of chance that she walked by the one of the smaller libraries the Caelum household owns, that she heard familiar voices talking mutedly through the wood of the closed door.

"You're cheating." Was the first sentence Lightning heard clearly when she pressed her ear to the wood. It was Prince Caelum's voice.

"I am not." Hope then chuckled.

Silently opening the door to peek inside, she found Hope with Noctis surrounded by a couple of books, but playing cards on the desk. Prince Caelum was still in the middle of explaining the game to Hope, and they were so invested into it that they didn't hear Lightning until she cleared her throat.

Hope looked up immediately. "Light!" He said a bit distracted as he kept eyeing the hand of cards he held. "Noct is been teaching me this came called Pecto. Not that I'm really good at it yet. And I do believe His Highness is letting me win."

"Only the first three times. You're catching on, so you're beating me yourself."

"If you have the trump card, it's better." Hope had an awful poker face and his expression instantly revealed that he had such a trump card. "Wanna play too, Light?"

She was going to leave them to it, intent on only finding both Hope and the prince when they vanished off of her radar, when the card game sounded intriguing enough to stick around. "Tempting offer," Lightning returned, looking over Hope's shoulder to the deck on display on the table. "Hard to refuse to playing a game I've never even heard of. But I've got to finish my rounds."

"It's easy really," Hope pointed at the card with the flan on it, putting it on the cards on the table opposite of Noctis's. The prince groaned, marking that he was losing. Again. "He's just down by five points."

Lightning glanced over at the Caelum heir. "Sounds gruesome. But I'll have to pass."

Noctis looked desperately around at his cards in his hand, before placing a chocobo pictured one on the table, making Hope gasp. He smirked, glancing up at his bodyguard. "I can explain to you if you want. It's called Pecto, and dad taught it to me when I was a kid."

Lightning shook her head about to thank the prince for his trouble, as Hope shifted uncomfortable in his seat. "I can't believe you used the chocobo card." Hope mumbled under his breath.

She couldn't help but look over his shoulder to his hand of cards. Assuming that if Noctis used a chocobo card to do whatever he did to get Hope grumbling, then Hope could do the same. She pointed at Hope's hand. "Then why don't you use your chocobo card on him?"

Noctis laughed while Hope tried to quiet her.

"Oh, he's not allowed to know?" Lightning raised an eyebrow. She really should start playing more games. This isn't the first time she blew it.

Hope sniffed. "The chocobo is a trump card, a powerful one. But can only beaten by a full hand of–"

"A full hand of moogles." Noctis grinned, setting down four cards on the table, each depicting a different type of moogle.

Hope lamented over his cards. His face dramatically sad. Lightning quietly laughed behind him. "You still have some cards available." She pointed at the ones Hope was still holding. "You have a chance to beat him. Nothing is impossible." She had no idea how the game was played, but as long as Hope still had cards left, there was a possibility to get back on track.

"Good luck." The corner of Noctis's mouth raised cockily. "The odds aren't really in his favor anymore."

Hope concentrated on his cards, ignoring the prince, but nodded to Light. "I remember. Not that I'll ever forget those words of yours."

She poked him on the head that made him laugh, but he continued playing against Noctis and Lightning lingered to watch it unfold. As the cards were put down turn by turn, Lightning got the gist of Pecto's rules and it had kind of a setting of two parties on a battle where each deck is an army. It was interesting and it could be intense, and according to the royal heir a single round could go on forever if both players are professional. She noticed that when Noctis put down a card with behemoth holding an axe, Hope drew a card of a crowned faeryl. With faeryl, he was allowed to put down two more cards, a flan with a spiky top and a flowered cactuar. Hope's opponent made an indignant sound.

Lightning couldn't help gloating in Hope's stead. "The odds weren't in his favor, you said?"

Noctis send her a look of murder that she laughed off. "Aren't you supposed to finish your rounds?"

She looked at the time, deeming that it was too late for that now and tsked when she recognized his distraction maneuver. "A sore loser you are."

Hope looked over at her and requested a high five of her for his renewed victory. "Thanks, Light!"

"Not fair." The prince pouted. "You cheated, didn't you?"

"How even?" Hope was beaming, relieved to have beaten the prince again when the game looked bleak for him.

"Lightning helped you." He pointed, where the two Cocoonians only shared a look together before grinning at each other that turned into chuckles.

Lightning's smile was a thing of beauty. "I don't even know the game, smartass."

"And Light doesn't believe in cheating." Hope gathered all the cards together, shuffling them into a neat deck. "She wouldn't ever help me do it either."

Noctis shook his head. Lightning really was honest to the bone, wasn't she? That meant Hope defeated him in the card game all by himself. "You're a smart kid, Hope."

Light ruffled his silver head like a proud mother hen. "Top of his class."

Hope blushed. "Please," He get out from under Light's knuckles, red in the face but he still managed to get up and give the heir apparent something of a bow. "Thank you, by the way. For showing me your library. Or at least, one of them." He gathered a few books in his arms that escaped Lightning's notice when she joined the two.

"Come on, I'll walk you to your room. I doubt you can find your way back with all those books covering your nose." The stacks of books Hope was gathering were quite a few, and although they didn't reach his face, he laughed regardless.

Hope thanked the prince one more time and Noctis waved it off before he wished them goodnight.

Walking through the hauntingly empty corridors of the Caelum palace, Hope bumped into Lightning to earn her attention. "He isn't nearly half as bad as you made him out to be."

Lightning cast him a look. "Are you suggesting that I'm overreacting?"

Hope hid behind his books. "No, I'm saying you should give people the benefit of a doubt. I could bet my entire grades that you weren't very friendly to him when you arrived."

"Hey," Lightning protested, finding Hope's accuracy more irking than impressive when it concerned her. "It goes both ways. He wasn't very friendly either."

"And neither of you attempted to take the higher road?" Hope laughed again then, only deriving how the situation between the prince and Lightning had been from her phone calls. But that had only been one side of the story. Seeing the prince in person, Hope could have been a better judge of the man himself. From Hope's perspective on the matter, it only looked like both Light and Noctis were of a stubborn sort, and once put away their differences, they were more similar than they realized.

Lightning made a huffing sound, turning a corner right into the hallway to led to his guestroom. "I don't think it matters anymore. We got past it."

"You did." Hope made something of a laughing noise, hiding behind his stacks of books before Lightning caught him laughing at her. "Shows how amazing he is by doing this for you."

Lightning faltered in her step before she could recover. "Do what? Feeding your nerdy side by showing you a paradise of books?"

Hope made a face at her not-so-funny joke and rolled his eyes. The smile quickly returned within the minute. "No, I mean by letting us come over to see you. That's really cool."

Lightning glanced down at her feet, something akin of heat rising from the pit of her belly and creeping up her neck. "I guess it is." She murmured lowly, avoiding Hope's eye as she guided him back to his guestroom in the Caelum palace.

~ǽ~

Lady Luck didn't bode well for the upcoming two days and it poured cats and dogs from the sky. The city was soaked through and the streets were filled with umbrellas while it rained nonstop. Vanille was the only one who loved rainy weather from the bunch and the grey clouds even bummed Dajh out. He was left with playing with his toys that he was less interested with, than the opportunity of having an entire palace to explore, but Sazh rejected the idea. The last thing he wanted was his boy getting lost in the huge place.

Ignis helped Dajh out by bringing him along to the kitchens and baked cookies with him, that the child delighted in eating as soon as they were out of the oven. Fang and Vanille were observing how the rain drops clung to the flowers in the royal garden, and Hope spend most of his time in one of the libraries. Lightning took advantage of the rain that resulted in everyone remaining within the castle for a vigorous workout session. With the prince a sitting duck, she had been in the training ground since early in the morning working up a good rhythm, until she was interrupted by Gladiolus who asked if he could join her instead.

"Depends if you can keep up." She smirked at him when Gladiolus asked, but he only grinned and pointed at himself.

"Don't you worry about me." Words that he would have regretted an hour later. Sergeant Farron didn't joke around when it came to working out. He had already broken a few sweat drops when she barely looked affected.

He didn't dare to make small talk with her until he threw her a cold water bottle, hoping he could ease into a conversation with her. He started with a joke, wondering if she drilled her teams back in the Guardian Corp the same way as she trained herself, and she smiled, telling him that she had gained a reputation for being unforgiving on the training grounds.

He inquired after her home planet Cocoon and the city Bodhum she lived in, until, eventually, he smoothly asked how she knew Fang.

Lightning slid her eyes towards the tall Amicitia, pausing in what she's doing. "You know, anything you want to know of Fang, you could ask her yourself."

He ran a hand through his hair, a slight blush on his face because she caught his intentions. "Yeah…" He said uncertainly. "I know and she's been lovely and open but… there's still some kind of enigma around her. Like there's a part of her she keeps hidden from me. I mean, I respect her privacy and I've only known her for so many days but it's like she's afraid of my reaction or something." He shrugged, unknowing how to put his frustrations to words.

But Lightning chuckled, having an idea what Fang was keeping from Gladiolus that prevented her from opening up to the man. "You guys go that fast, huh?"

He laughed sheepishly, the flush on his cheeks deepening. "I really like her."

He meant that. She could tell. "I have it on good authority that she really likes you too. Fang is nothing but real to you, trust me. She has her reasons, but knowing her, she'll tell you what's on her chest sooner or later. Just, don't push her."

"I won't. I respect her too much to do so." Gladiolus nodded, thinking, took a swallow of his water bottle, then nodded again. "So I guess you're right."

They didn't continue on for long, for Lightning cut their session off, claiming she still had to take a shower before she did one of her surveillance rounds and check up on the prince and her friends.

Not wanting to part with the subject of relationship problems between them, Gladiolus assured her that he didn't ask to join her to get inside info on Fang. He liked Sergeant Farron's work ethnic and her pace was brutal but satisfying. She was a lot more vigorous than one of his brothers, that's for sure. "How about another gym date, somewhere next week?"

Lightning smiled, agreeing. "I owe you a water bottle next time."

~ǽ~

The following day, as Lady Luck would have it, the rains let up and the sun was out again, greeting the newcomers bright and early from their beds. Vanille was unusually chipper when she was up first thing in the morning. Lightning bumped into her when she did her morning route, raising an eyebrow at seeing the lass up and about when the clock struck six in the morning.

"Are you ill?"

Vanille seemed everything but when she spotted Lightning, waving her over frantically. "Far from it! I'm just excited!"

The soldier had no idea what was exciting enough for Vanille to be up at six, when she disliked to be awake in the early hours. "Excited for breakfast, are you?" Lightning crossed her arms but her tone was playful. "I assure you, the gazpacho isn't running away."

"As much as the thought of cold soup first thing in the morning gets to me," Vanille giggled, twirling the ends of one of her tails. "I'm not up for gazpacho. I actually couldn't sleep knowing what we're going to do today."

The soldier gave her a look. "An exciting morning jog?"

"Hmmm," Vanille secretly hummed, locking her arms behind her back and winking at Light. "Prompto let it slip where Prince Nocty is going to bring us today. Lesson to be learned that Prom-Prom can't hold water."

"I'll be sure to remember not to tell Prom-Prom any important secrets then." Lightning knew better than to question the nickname coming from either Vanille or Fang, the two were infamous for it after all. But she was intrigued with the intel Prompto let slip. Noctis didn't tell her that he had plans of bringing her relatives anywhere. Then again, he seemed to like to surprise them with pretty tourists spots of Lucis. "Where is he taking you guys?"

"Nuh-uh. I won't tell." She smiled, flicking her nose. "You'd have to ask his royal highness yourself if you wanna know."

Lightning did want to know and right before the prince retired from his rooms to get to breakfast, she made it her goal to find out. She snuck up on him from behind, her step completely silent against the marble floor while he had no clue she was closing in on him. She was directly behind his back, nearly whispering against his neck when he was messing on his phone as he left his chambers. "What's your secret?"

The prince did the most ungraceful jump into the air when he heard her voice, fumbling after his phone that he almost dropped and eyes glowing a hot crimson in his shock. "D-don't do that!" He flushed, blinking until his irises were the warm cobalt blue she was so familiar with. Lightning didn't know whether she should feel sorry that she scared him enough into his powers, or tease him that he was so easily frightened. "Where did you appear– Oh, never mind." He halted himself, figuring she used her assassin's skills to sneak up on him. He really ought to give her much more credit, since there were clearly much more to her than she even showed him. "What are you talking about? What secret?"

He pocketed his phone, continuing his path from his chambers through the corridors. She fell in step with him, looking up at him from the corner of her eyes. "Vanille told me that Prompto told her that you got something planned for the group today."

Damn it. Prompto was the worst secret keeper when it came to mundane things. "Do I?" Determined to play it cool, he shrugged.

"She did. Now spill. What do you got planned?"

The smirk that played on his lips when he looked down his shoulder at her both vexed her and made tingles run down her spine. "I have no idea. But if I were planning something, I guess you'd have to find out with the rest of 'em, then."

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you like to play coy just to annoy me?"

"Depends." He turned sideways, having a sort of reverse walk down the corridor just to gregariously grin at her. "If annoying you would get you off my trail, then perhaps. If so, is it working?"

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth that she tried her very hardest to squash into nonexistence, but failed. "You'll notice when I punch you."

He cringed already, waving his hands in front of him in defense. "All becomes clear after breakfast, I promise."

She pointed at him as a warning, one that he let roll off him with a chuckle. They head to gather the new Cocoonian newcomers, already meeting Prompto and Gladiolus in Fenrir's Hall. When asking where Ignis was, he appeared with the kitchen staff, holding a tall plate of baked goods he and Dajh had made just the day before. Vanille couldn't contain her excitement even during dinner, causing the other to wonder what made her so giddy.

Lightning was burning with curiosity herself, and sending Noctis constant looks across the table to fess up, he happily ignored her to engage himself in conversation with either Serah or Sazh.

True to his words, as soon as the last services of breakfast was cleaned up, Noctis requested everyone to meet him outside once again by the car for their next part of the tour through Lucis. Vanille basically cheered, with Prompto right behind her. Hope was scratching his head in confusion, but followed, with the rest right after them. Gladiolus and Ignis seemed to be in the loop with wherever the prince was going to bring the lot of them, albeit far more composed than either Prompto or Vanille were.

Happily they followed the prince's directions towards the car, with Dajh insisting that he wants to drive in the Regalia. Sazh insisted that he should not, but Ignis was obliging enough to let the boy sit in the king's car. Snow, on the other hand, had been trying to give the red minivan a name of its own, huge and ugly it may be, but it served them well enough.

Lightning pulled on Noctis's elbow as soon everyone was going to argue about seating arrangement in the car again, as they had a tendency to do every time they went out on a ride. "I can't believe you're going to show them all of Insomnia. What are you, a tour guide now?"

"Hey, I don't imagine them to be in Lucis all the time. They wanted to see all of the city and famous spots, they said, so I'll take them there." The prince grinned as he ushered her into the car as well, before taking the wheel.

No sooner were they heading out of the city however, going down a familiar road they had gone through not a month before. "Then where are you taking us now? We're not going out hunting are we?" If so, he might have said sooner. Serah didn't like hunting and Snow wasn't very savvy in handling an array of weaponry, other than the odd gun here and there.

"Nah." Noctis raised his shoulders, waving her guesses off. "You'll see though."

The ride was a swift one this time around, leaving the bustling dense city to the airier roads leading up to the mountains. It was a familiar road Lightning had taken before, and within the hour they arrived at a familiar place. One that made Serah coo and Vanille skip ahead with Prompto to pet the golden chocobos that were stalled around.

"So adorable!"

The smell of a chocobo ranch was potent in the air. The birds cried and purred in their stalls as they were fed salads and corn from tourists' hands. The place is much livelier than the last time they were here; Deadeye's threatening presence had the ranch closed down, and only one or two people could be found petting the birds. But now, on this reasonably sunny day, there were people in abundance about. Children held up hands filled with corn, the little souvenir shop had a queue long enough to round the corner. The little café was bustling with folk trying to buy something to eat and drink, and there were a lot more chocobos available than had been a month ago.

Lightning was one of the last to get out of the car and she looked around as if she's never seen a chocobo ranch before. "You brought us to…?"

Noctis lingered behind with her, if only to lock the doors before they followed the rest of the "Hey, Wiz did promise us a free tour next time we were here."

Seeing how they arrived at Wiz's Chocobo Post, Lightning quickly connected the name to the ranch's owner, who came waddling towards them with Ignis and Hope in tow. Before Wiz bowed Noctis stopped him from doing so lest any of the tourists around them start wondering why he was getting the special attention.

Small formalities were exchanged, Wiz felt infinitively grateful because it was basically thanks to the prince and his friends that he was back in business, and happily he would provide them with chocobo tours on the house. Not that his royal highness would take the offer. He made sure to donate a sum of gil for the ranch either way.

What was arranged were the chocobos for group and it was Wiz himself to guided them to the back of the ranch, significantly more quiet, where a handful of chocobos stood saddled and ready for the visitors to ride. Above every stall a name plate of the chocobos shone in golden letters, with the most common of names to the ironically ridiculous one. Vanille took one look at the chocobo named Elizabeth and instantly fell in love.

Wiz eyed Gladiolus and Snow, easily the two tallest men of the group and pointed them to the strongest and biggest birds he had to offer them. "Ladybug here was hatched on a vegetation farm, bred to help out with the heavy chores. Fortunately, the farm went bankrupt and Ladybug was put up for adoption. He found a comfortable place here, but he still got the legs of a farm worker, so he can easily hold up your weight, no probs."

Gladiolus smiled at the chocobos name and stroked the golden feathers of his neck. True to the claims, Ladybug was one of the biggest bird he had. "This one's my ride then." He pointed Snow to the other chocobo, near about the same size as Ladybug.

Wiz saved the most special bird specifically for the future monarch. Angel was the only white feathered bird the ranch had and personally it was Wiz's favorite. In thanks he offered to saddle Angel up for Noctis, but the prince wanted no such special dedication. Sazh instead slipped in the suggestion that Lightning had to ride the bird for it was 'a special bird for a special soldier,' acutely remembering the last white steed she had. And everyone, ranging from Serah to Ignis, agreed that Lightning should ride Angel. Everyone in turn insisted that Noctis rode the chocobo named Onion, since his love for all vegetables was well known enough to tease him about it. Prompto was indecisive between Yennefer and Little Pecker, two elegant birds that both took a liking to the blond as he fed them gysahl greens from each hand. In the end he went with Little Pecker, because the name was both hilarious and adorable. Sazh didn't allow Dajh to sit on a chocobo alone so they shared a seat on Artemis.

Once everyone was saddled and given their bag of gysahl greens, Wiz handed them all pamphlets of the routes they could take through Duscae that would each take approximately three hours, just the time they had before they had to return to the ranch.

Setting out, Vanille and Hope were the first two who rushed out, Prompto and Fang right after them. Ignis opted to remain close to Sazh and Dajh, who didn't stray too far from Serah, Lightning and Noctis. Snow and Gladiolus hobbled behind the rest of them, trying to ease back into riding such huge chocobos comfortably.

The tour was a nice one through the forests of Duscae, but trouble started when Prompto wanted to run after a herd of Mesmenirs that lived in the wild but Hope protested. "Mesmenirs are faster than chocobos," The silver haired young man academically explained. "We can never keep up."

Vanille tapped her chin, trying to remember what she knew of the majestic Mesmenirs when she grew up in Oerba. "Wild Mesmenirs aren't that fast, actually."

Hope looked appalled. "You want to try and chase them?"

Prompto chuckled at Hope's expense. "We can try. Just because you can't handle Patrice doesn't mean you can't try."

"No, this is Patrick." Hope petted the chocobo's head. "And I still think we shouldn't–"

"You can do it," Prompto goaded the younger boy. "Let's do this. Yeehaw!" He threw his reigns and Little Pecker let out an enthusiastic kweh before it ran ahead of the group after the herd of Mesmenirs.

"Haha!" Vanille laughed, doing the same. "Come on Hope!"

The latter sighed. "Fine." Patrick had needed little convincing, as it instantly picked up speed and ran after Vanille and Prompto's tails.

Dajh saw the yellow tails speeding along and quickly urged his father to do the same, but Sazh wasn't much of a chocobo rider. "Are they safe?" The father asked, nodding after Vanille, Hope, and Prompto who managed to catch up with the Mesmenirs in no time.

Ignis waved his concerns away. "Mesmenirs aren't typically dangerous, unless provoked. Duscae houses mostly docile creatures. We have to get on north side of the slough to find Sabertusks and red wolves and the likes."

Lightning remembered the sport they had to fight off while they were hunting Deadeye, with the behemoth being the most dangerous predator among them of course. It was great to see how nature seems to balance itself out after the death of Deadeye. The tour they explored through the forests brought them next to the giant lake she remembered from last time, but this time around a huge Catoplebas loitered in the water, trying to slurp weeds and other vegetation from the lake bed. An obstinacy of Garulas grazed on the grassy fields nearby. There were a few more young with them than there had been and this was definitely the first time Lightning had seen such a herd of Mesmenirs around. She wondered if the black feathered chocobos also multiplied itself somewhere in the forests.

On the west side of the lake there were more rock formations that the latter group wanted to explore. With Fang lingering back until she rode side by side with Gladiolus and Snow catching up to be with Serah, they opted to test the birds out by climbing the rocks to see the view over most of Duscae's slough side. Snow was on top first, followed by Noctis. Serah felt a bit uncomfortable to let her chocobo climb on the unsteady rocks. She gave chocobo some gysahl greens, fiercely named Cerberus for such a slight bird, while its rider kept saying encouraging things against its neck as it climbed. Lightning lingered behind her on Angel, making sure Serah got on top safely.

From on top of the rocks they could see the top of Wiz's Chocobo Post sign peeking above the trees. There was a little fisher's hut on the other side of the lake they haven't seen before, and in the distance the overarching rocks crossed over into the sky like bridges between heaven and earth. The lot from Cocoon had seen their fair share of nature's wonders, but the sky-high rocks were something else of a miracle.

They left with the same path they took to go up there, with the exception of Noctis, who wanted to jump off the rock and glide back to the ground. He did so with some great difficulty in keeping his chocobo calm and once back down and reunited with the others, his bodyguard chuckled behind his back.

He turned at the wondrous sound. "You can make it jump higher than that." Lightning pointed out after Noctis reigned in Onion.

"What? No, you can't. They're agile birds, but that was a pretty steep jump."

"Not steep enough. There's a way to make them go higher. Even fly." At this, the prince snorted incredulously. She grumbled and frowned at him. "You can. Don't you know how to properly ride a chocobo?"

Noctis's gregarious grin at her made things flip inside of her. "I'll have you know that for someone raised in the Crown City, I ride superbly."

"Alright then, city boy," She fed the last of her gysahl greens to Angel. Their time on the yellow birds were almost done and maybe they could make their tour towards the ranch interesting. "How about you put those superb riding skills to the test?"

Prince Caelum leaned towards her with a sneaky smile of his own. His eyes were nearly gray in his enthusiasm. "What do you have in mind?"

"A race." She proposed. "First one back at the ranch wins and proves who's better at riding chocobos."

"Oh, you're on. You're so on." His smile was contagious.

They first caught up with the others and asked the group if they would like to participate in their race, and happily everyone obliged to play except for Sazh. "Much too dangerous for Dajh," He said but waved them along. "But you kids go and have fun."

Snow was a giant on the chocobo beneath him, ironically named Dwarf to spite its huge size, but he handled the bird better than they suspected. Vanille ran circled around Prompto, showing her ancient skill and telling him that he's holding his reins wrong.

"I've always held them like this!" Argentum yelled at her indignant.

"And that is why your chocobo hiccups." Vanille giggled and ran another circle.

Prompto followed her and desperately tried to keep up with her. "Hiccups? What does that even mean? I've never seen a chocobo hiccup – Hey wait up!"

They all gathered at a make shift starting line to compete in a race back towards the ranch. And since Sazh was the only one who didn't participate, he gave the start signal, who in turn left it over to Dajh. "On your places. Ready? Set," He squealed loudly. "Go!"

Prompto had a head start, followed by Serah who kept whispering to her chocobo Cerberus to speed him along.

Noctis eyed Lightning right before Dajh gave them the start signal, and it appeared she was more than ready to set the record straight between them. Her chocobo, Angel, seemed just as anxious to be gone as its rider. It amused Noct to figure out how competitive Lightning was by nature, and as soon as Dajh yelled that they were allowed to go, Lightning sped off and left him to bite her dust.

It wasn't a very long for most of them were already close to the ranch, but nevertheless, it was Serah who came in first on Cerberus, followed closely by Vanille with Elizabeth and on third place was Prompto riding Little Pecker.

Noctis ran over the invisible finish line once he was a few meters from the ranch again, calming down Onion who energetically bucked and cried a loud kweh into the air. The prince petted the neck of his chocobo, only turning to the latecomers to rub his victory in their faces.

Well, Lightning's face. Angel was a beautiful bird, there was no doubt about it, but she was smaller and significantly slower than Onion, and Angel's rider came to scowling unhappily. Noctis jumped off his chocobo, giving Onion his well-deserved bag of gysahl greens and petting the bird's neck.

He looked over at his bodyguard, grinning triumphantly. "I won." He had a sense to gloat, even though he didn't win the race.

Her scowl instantly set deeper and Noctis tried his hardest not to laugh. "No, you didn't." She huffed like a petulant child. "You still finished fourth." Lightning slid off Angel to give her own gysahl greens.

"But," The prince couldn't resist holding his victory over her. "I still finished before you did. Meaning that I am the better rider, haha!"

"You aren't. You still don't know how to handle your bird properly which is why you finished fourth." Although her voice remained somewhat leveled, her cheeks flushed when she couldn't accept that she was the worse rider. "You just got lucky, that's why you arrived here before I did."

It wasn't that she was angry, because Noctis knew by now the severity of her reaction if she were, but it was somewhat perversely fun to see her riled up like this. She definitely didn't know how cute she looked when she pouted.

"Wow," Noctis tittered at her and he was glad she didn't outright punch him. "You don't like losing do you?"

She chose to ignore him then, going about her way of feeding Angel and loosening up her saddle belt. Noctis was still snickering at her when she started talking to the bird in much too sweet tone of voice than Noctis ever heard of her.

The prince gaped, sure that Lightning hadn't just baby talked to her chocobo. He felt like he was shipped off to alternative universe when seeing Lightning – his badass bodyguard Sergeant Farron who was as hardcore as they could come – just sweetly gushed over her chocobo. Onion, the gysahl, the others around him even all were forgotten as he stared at Lightning as if she were another being.

Guiding the chocobos back into the stalls, Prompto couldn't help hugging his chocobo right before he was made to part with it. Dajh was allowed to help grooming the chocobos, specifically Angel whose white feathers attracted all eyes in wonder. Serah was helping the little boy by lifting him when he couldn't reach the places on Angel's neck to groom.

Wiz the chocobo rancher came about sharing his home made energy drink as a thank you for the prince's visit. "A toast!" Snow raised his energy drink when everyone had one – minus Dajh who got a pop choco-loko soda. "In honor of Noct, Iggy, Prom-Prom and Gladio–" Gladiolus sniggered at the nickname Snow used for Prompto and the two giants briefly bumped fists. "Who brought us around and showed us that city boys can still ride a chocobo like they're born on 'em. Cheers!"

"Here, here!" Fang said, throwing back her energy drink.

"Thank you so much for bringing us for a ride," Vanille was already flustered when she properly thanked the prince. "I haven't been on a chocobo since Nautilus!"

"That was quite some time ago, wasn't it Vani?" Sazh would never forget the stench of chocobo manure. That hung in the air above one of the islands of Nautilus. Wiz's Post wasn't that much better, actually.

Serah hummed against her bottle while Dajh drank his soda pop in a few gulps and was already looking to get more. She was still holding the child's hand as she joined Sazh and Snow while the little boy begged them to get a sip of their energy drink. Sazh forbade it, but Snow was a sucker for the kid and it was hard to say no him. Luckily, Serah was there to keep Snow from caving in, but the small Katzroy was much smarter than they gave him credit for. Wandering off to other groups who still hadn't finished their energy drinks, he got a resolution no for as long as Sazh was within earshot, but finding his way over to where Prince Caelum was still gloating to his bodyguard about her grumpy loss, Dajh struck gold. Neither Noctis nor Lightning gave Dajh exactly what he came to ask, but Noctis managed to score the little boy another pop choco-loko soda, while Lightning bought him a bag of gysahl green chips. And then a lollipop in the form of the trademark birds. Afterwards another pop soda.

Serah smiled at the thought how much of a soft spot Light had for kids as well, despite all her hardcore persona. Figure a way into Light's heart and she'll shift the world for you. Blue eyes sliding towards Prince Noctis, who seemed never to be too far away from Lightning, Serah wondered how long it'll take him to discover that about Lightning.

Not noticing they were under the scrutiny of the younger Farron up ahead, Lightning was still busy tending to Dajh as she contemplated on buying the kid one of the super cute candy bars Wiz had for sale. Noctis told her not to. "You'll spoil his appetite if you do. He already had a lollipop."

"Aww," Dajh kind of begged, throwing the most adorable of faces in Lightning's direction. "Please, please, pretty please, Light? Can I have one?"

Lightning bit her lip and tried to resist as much as she could. "But they're so nice and they're chocolate. But prince Noctis is right." She looked down at the child with a decisive no. "No more sweets for you, little man."

Noctis believed he just discovered Lightning's weakness for both sweets and Dajh. Pulling the soldier and the little boy away from temptation, he checked his time when he noticed that if they departed now, they would be back in the city for dinner. "Come on, there's gazpacho waiting for us back home."

Ignis rounded everyone together and with one last group photo thanks to Prompto and his newly required selfie-stick, they headed back to the cars. Sazh and Dajh ran up first, claiming shotgun of the red minivan. Snow protested of course, knowing he wouldn't be able to fit in the back. Fang would've happily given up her spot for Snow so she could drive in the Regalia instead – no doubt to the pleasure and joy of one man in particular – but Snow didn't want to give up his spot in the front seat.

Listening to them banter on about seating arrangements again, Lightning just couldn't help soaking every moment of it. She has missed this. Missed them, so badly. In this one pure second betwixt her family and friends, she took the opportunity to revel in the sound of their laughter and the distant cries of chocobos behind them. It filled her with warmth that seeped in right into her bones that made a grin tug at her lips. If someone told her a year ago that she would be worlds away, in the Lucis kingdom bound by a duty to guard a prince and then still be surrounded by her family while she just came back from chocobo riding, she would have called the person crazy.

It didn't even matter that she lost at a race – she who was too competitive for her own good – and yet it didn't even matter when she lost against Noctis.

Glancing back at him, who lingered last with Prompto to make more pictures with the chocobos as the others fought about their rightful places in the car, he was heading in their direction when she stopped him by his arm.

The smile on her face stopped him short, she was so breathtaking. "Did you come up with this on your own?" She asked quietly.

His arm tingled where she touched him, but he squashed the feeling fast. "Eh, do you know how Prompto get when you mention chocobos?"

"I mean about everything." She waved over to her closest of friends. "Them coming over to Lucis, too?"

He sobered up a little, his voice dropping a decibel so only she heard him. "I was the only one who knew how much you missed your family, wasn't I?"

She didn't know why, but she expected Noctis to tell his brothers everything, including every or so interaction she had with him. He had enough consideration to keep what he saw and heard to himself, and while that shouldn't be a venerating trait, she admired his regard to her situation.

And she realized, even as this must be the best day ever for little Dajh around the chocobos and everyone from Ignis to Fang seemed to be enjoying themselves, that Noctis had done it for her. They may be entertained with sight-seeing around Lucis and chocobo excursions, but Lightning got to spend time again with her family, because he was the only one who knew she wanted to see them again.

All of this wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Noctis and all of this he did solely for her.

She may have to admit that under all his bravado, he was the sweetest guy that she knew.

~ǽ~

…you rose like the morning sun…

Fin note de l'auteur

It's been over a year and before you think this is all I've written in the whole year I've been gone, you're mistaken. Due to the impossible large length that this became, I had to cut it… especially because I knew I HAD to update before the release of the game. That said, some countries broke street date, and you might have seen the whole game already, but I haven't yet so here I am. Next chapter already has 87 pages written, coming down to about 39.000 words, and it still isn't finalized yet, so it'll probably be longer. As I said, it was part of this chapter.

Oh well.

Either way… Everything is real after this. The game is real. The story gets real. Characters shall be real. I can't believe it. I love ya. I'll call ya. I see you guys on the flip side. Please tell me how your experience with FFXV was. PM me, message me, just anything. I wanna know! Oh find me on my tumblr; stephanythedramaqueen and hit me up over there, regardless of shipping preference or lack thereof! Just find because I so do loooooove to talk!

*She either knows love or hate, there's no in between.*

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