I freaking love writing Luna and Iggy.

The stars were absolutely stunning this far away from any large cities, Ignis noted as he studied the sky from his seat on the edge of the motel roof. They'd arrived at the motel early that morning, and Lunafreya had been sleeping ever since they'd gotten settled. Since then, Ignis had completed every possible task in preparation for their journey to awaken the Hydraean.

Ravus had been contacted and was procuring them transportation, their supplies were stocked, new clothing that would help them blend in had been purchased, and he'd grabbed extra food from the hotel's dining room and left it in the room for Lunafreya. Ignis had nothing left to take care of, and thus, he'd sought a view from the rooftops – a place that allowed him to keep an eye on most of the small town they were in.

He could have taken the time to relax, but he found himself unable to do so given everything that had happened the day before. Those events and the journey ahead were keeping his mind well occupied as he absently noted the townspeople coming and going.

The night was a humid one due to the recent rain, but the temperature had dropped, leaving the air with an all-around chilled feeling. Not entirely optimal traveling weather, but not entirely unpleasant given the warmth seeping from the motel's roof.

Ignis rolled his stiff shoulder, then adjusted the sleeve on his new shirt. Quite by chance, he'd found a white shirt with grey stripes that was nearly identical to one of his favorite casual shirts back home. The material was cheaper and less comfortable than the one he'd already owned, but it would serve its purpose just fine.

The door to the roof clicked as it was pushed open, and Ignis blinked in mild surprise when Lunafreya stepped out. "Good evening."

Clearly she'd found some of the new clothes he'd left for her, because she currently was only sporting a passing resemblance to the beloved Oracle everyone knew. Worn-looking dark jeans – why were they sold in that condition in the first place? – simple brown hiking boots, and a cream-colored, elbow-sleeved shirt went a long way towards changing her image. Not to mention her hair being down, damp, and most unkempt. Yes, she'd fit in much better now.

"Evening," he returned.

She nudged the door shut with her heel, hands occupied with two styrofoam cups. "I know you prefer Ebony, but I didn't think that was the best choice given the hour." She offered him one of the cups before taking a seat next to him.

The sweet steam of the drinks wafted into his sinuses, making his tastebuds tingle in anticipation. "Well, I'll not say no to a little variety." It could only be one of the generic hot chocolate packages left in their room, but the aroma was leading him to believe it would be more delicious than he'd expect from instant hotel beverages. A small taste revealed his nose to be as reliable as always, and he glanced at Lunafreya, taking a larger sip. "Rather interesting modifications you made to this."

She smiled, enjoying her own drink. "I didn't think you'd mind too much if I used a few of your ingredients."

"Not if they're being put to good use." The mix of flavors washed over his tongue again as he pulled out his recipe book and let his pen flow across the page's surface.

Lunafreya leaned over to peer at what he was writing. "You can tell all of that from taste alone? How?"

"Many years of practice, I'd say." He waited a moment for the ink to dry. "And you? I find it hard to believe you came up with this first try. Not that I claim to be a connoisseur in this particular area, but it is quite good."

"Thank you." She beamed at the compliment, and Ignis found himself wondering how many people in her life actually offered her positive encouragement. Not Ravus, who was her only family. Was Noct the only one? "When one is as… isolated as myself, you tend to get bored and take solace in what you can find."

"I see…" He wasn't sure how she would respond to pity, so he kept his voice cautiously neutral, letting his eyes trail back to the stars above.

Lunafreya observed him for a moment before smiling. "Ah, yes – you enjoy stargazing, don't you? Noctis told me he used to drag you into sneaking up to the Citadel roof at night."

Ignis chuckled at the memories. He had been the one interested in stargazing the most, which was perhaps why he'd made such a poor judgement call in letting Noct actually convince him to sneak out on multiple occasions when they were young. "Oh, many times. Until we were caught."

"He felt terrible about you taking the blame for that."

"Hmm. As I told him, it was my choice."

She shook her head. "Did Regis truly buy that?"

"Well…" Ignis clicked his tongue, raising his cup to take another sip of his beverage. "I sold that."

"Ah, I see." Lunafreya's eyes sparkled with mischief. "So – if I am understanding this correctly – you're admitting that you willingly deceived your King?"

Ignis' cup paused just before his mouth. "I… had never quite considered it in that light before."

She laughed, the sound the most wholehearted and carefree he'd heard from her thus far. "An Advisor lying to the King – most scandalous. You should be ashamed."

"I'm certain the guilt will haunt me until the end of my days." It did have him wondering, though – just how many times had he lied to the King on Noct's behalf? And how many times did Regis truly believe him? The King was a wise man, and Ignis dreaded to think how horrible a liar his younger self must have been. Not to mention Regis had known him nearly his entire life – he had to have known how to read him.

A pang jolted from the center of his chest, and Ignis tightened his grip on his cup. He'd known for days what had happened, but this was the first time it was fully registering to him what had been lost.

Regis. His King and, frankly, second father.

Alexis. Regis' Advisor and Ignis' predecessor. She'd likely fallen in the throne room.

Clarus. Gladio's father. Ignis had always respected him. He'd been a kind man. Regis' body had been alone, so Clarus must have fallen shortly beforehand. He never would have died after his best friend.

Nyx. Although Ignis hadn't know him long personally, his reputation and attitude had always been popular topics. A man with purely selfless intentions.

And Ignis' Uncle? Cor? Monica? Dustin? He had no idea of their fates.

But Noct and Gladio and Prompto were safe. That much he could take solace in. That, and the safety of his current companion.

They would reunite with Noct and the others. He'd see to it.

It was not an alarm that woke Noctis up that morning. It wasn't Gladio pestering him either. Or Prompto hitting him with a pillow. Or Ignis gently trying to coax him into returning to the land of the living. No, it was none of the usual causes Noctis had come to know throughout his life.

Where it normally took at least several minutes of effort on the part of the person trying to get him up, Noct found himself unpleasantly jolted awake by several loud and metal-sounding things crashing into each other and the ground.

The sunlight from the open tent assaulted his eyes, and Noctis buried his head in the crook of his elbow with a groan.

Gladio, who was always up before him, surprisingly was there to echo his groan. "The hell is he doin' out there?" Gladio grumbled, and it took Noctis a moment to realize that Prompto wasn't with them.

That explained the noise.

Clatter. Clack. Rattle.

Noctis rolled onto his other side, pulling his pillow from beneath his head to shove over the ear he had in the air.

"Prompto!" Gladio's growl was only slightly muffled as he shoved his covers off and stomped out of the tent. "What are you doing?"

"Dude, I have had enough noodles! I'm making breakfast!"

"…You're what?" Noctis tossed his pillow to the side, sitting up.

Prompto appeared at the door of the tent, jabbing a spatula at him. "I. Am. Making. Breakfast. And you are gonna eat the damn vegetables!"

"The hell I am."

"Vegetables or noodles, Noct! Make a decision!"

"Why are those the only choices?"

"Because all we've been buying is Cup Noodles!"

There was the sound of more pans clattering, and Gladio sighed. "Ignis would be crying right now if he could see what you did to his frying pan…"

Prompto scowled, disappearing back outside. "You know what, Big Guy? Why don't you do something useful like peel those potatoes?"

"…Since when do we have potatoes?"

"Since I found them this morning."

"…Where?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does if they might be poisonous."

"They're not poisonous!"

"And you're sure about that?"

"…No. Look, I'm just gonna cook 'em, okay? Heat kills everything… right?"

Noctis flopped back onto his sleeping bag. Between Gladio and Prompto's "cooking," they were going to be dead way before the Empire found them.

Be afraid, Noct. Be very afraid. lol

Also, in regards to the mention of Alexis, there's a story there. My friend – ScribeOfRED – is also writing an Iggy fic, and she needed to know who Regis' advisor was. Together, we established that it was probably the lady in Kingsglaive that sits to Regis' right, since Clarus sits to his left. That woman also gives Regis a lot of advice, and I think she's the one giving the reports in Brotherhood. Red decided to call her Alexis for her story, so I'm sticking with that for now.