"Are you sure you don't want to stay longer?" Tifa asked Jasmine as the girl stood in the entryway, lacing up her boots.
Jasmine nodded and offered Tifa a small smile. She'd spent three days at Tifa's house after her release from SOLDIER. However, there had been less talk and more silence than anything as Jasmine ended up using most of her time back home for rest. Tifa understood it though. With all that Jasmine had been through it would be almost unfair to simply say that she was tired and didn't mind the fact that she slept.
"Yes I'm sure," Jasmine replied, standing up. "I've got to get back to Radiant Garden."
Zack yawned and scratched his head. Cloud, Aerith and the others decided to spend the last few days with Tifa once Jasmine was back. While the others were asleep Zack woke up when he heard Jasmine and Tifa talking amongst themselves, deciding to make sure that she made it out okay and take a nap later in the day. "Where is Noctis?"
Jasmine reached into the pocket of her jeans and checked her phone for any missed calls or text messages. She had two missed calls from Noctis and one unread text message just this morning alone. Jasmine had originally told Noctis when Tseng came for her that once she was finished with her business she would return to the apartment but, as usual, her plans changed.
Noctis did know of Jasmine's whereabouts though. After trying to reach her several times during the last few days, Noctis asked Prompto to call her. After a few tries, Tifa answered Jasmine's cell phone while the girl was asleep and let her team know that she was alright. But even though Noctis knew where she was and knew that she was with people who could protect her, it was clear that he wanted her back on Radiant Garden as soon as possible.
"You really should stay with us – at least for a few more days," Zack chimed in, hoping to keep Jasmine home with Tifa for a little while longer.
When Jasmine had awoken on her first day back the family enjoyed dinner together at Tifa's house and she finally told them the story of what happened at Vanitas' mansion (minus a few details). Needless to say, everyone – especially Tifa – were stunned at the revelation.
It would appear that no one knew about the connection that Jasmine's parents had with Vanitas' family, which also called into question why the friendship was kept in secret. Jasmine knew that her parents valued and fiercely protected their privacy considering the fact that her father was a politician. But she would have thought that the Silva family would have told Tifa or her uncle, Vincent, about the Irinos.
The young Valentine shook her head, recalling her father's last words. Even though she hated to admit it, he was right. There were a great many secrets held on both ends. Jasmine just hoped that she would live long enough to bring them all to the light.
"I can't," Jasmine said finally with a heavy sigh. "But I'll give you a call when I'm back with Noctis so we can talk more. Ventus is already here. He's taking me back so I can get my car."
"And then what?" Tifa asked, leaning against the wall.
Jasmine felt her phone vibrating. Ventus was probably out front now. "I have to see Sora," she announced. "I feel like he may be able to help me. Besides," Jasmine trailed off. It was Tuesday. He would probably be at school in a few hours. "I really do miss him."
Tifa smiled, knowing that Sora would be happy to see that Jasmine was okay. She would never tell Jasmine this herself, but Sora and his parents felt guilty about the way things had played out between the two families. Sora had often come by the house with Kairi to visit Tifa and the others to see how they were doing. As per the norm, Sora was usually all smiles and optimism but even he couldn't hide his guilt. Tifa never once blamed Sora or his parents for Jasmine's kidnapping. They took no part in it so in her mind none of it was their fault. However, after hearing Jasmine's story, Tifa was finding it hard herself to figure out who really was to blame for all the incidents that had taken place in the last few years.
"I'm sure they'll all want to see you," Tifa told her. Noticing the slight hesitation on Jasmine's face, Tifa quickly added, "But take your time. I'm sure they'll understand regardless."
"I hope so," Jasmine said simply as she headed for the door. She stopped before she reached the doorknob and ran to embrace Zack first and then Tifa, bending down to hold the smaller woman. "I'll be back soon. I promise."
Tifa pulled back from the hug and held Jasmine's shoulders, giving the girl a quick once over. "It's like looking into the past," she whispered. "You're just like all of us when we joined SOLDIER."
Jasmine attempted a smile and headed for the door. "All seriousness aside, it doesn't feel so unnatural. All of you guys are involved. I finally feel like I've joined the club."
Tifa detected the sadness in Jasmine's voice and watched her leave. 'Yeah,' she agreed mentally. 'But we still had a choice.'
As usual, Sora had a hard time staying awake in his class and had to prop his elbow on his desk and cup his chin in his hand to remain somewhat. It was the back end of February and his senior year was winding down with his future pretty much mapped out.
He and the rest of his friends had gained acceptance to Radiant Garden University in the fall. While Kairi had initially planned to attend Atlantica University, she had a change of heart and decided to remain with Sora and her friends. Now that all the heavy decisions had been taken care of, all they had to do was ride out the rest of the academic year and then they would be free.
Sora sighed heavily and thought about how much had changed in the last few years. While he was still just like every other kid on the island who went to school, hung out with his friends, spent time with their families, all the day to day activities just seemed a bit meaningless and unimportant now.
He'd seen a new side of life ever since Jasmine's arrival and his re-introduction to Vanitas. It was then that Sora realized that he had a naïve view of how the world truly worked and even though he'd gotten a glimpse of the world outside his sheltered walls, he knew that there was still so much more to see.
An office worker entered the classroom and politely interrupted the instructor, handing her a slip of paper. The teacher read over the note and then called, "Sora, I need you to gather your belongings and report to the front office."
Sora snapped out of his daydream. He pointed to himself as if to say "Me?" and immediately scooped up his things. Kairi, who sat next to him, shot him a curious glance and he gave one right back to her. He took the slip of paper and left the classroom, heading directly for the office.
Once there, the receptionist read over the slip of paper and inputted something into his computer. "You're being excused for the rest of the day," he announced to Sora. "Someone is waiting out in front of the school to pick you up."
Sora's stomach immediately dropped to the floor. This did not sound pleasant in the slightest.
"Who's coming to get me?" Sora asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
The receptionist shrugged his shoulders casually, his eyes returning to the computer screen. "I don't know, to be honest with ya. But I wouldn't worry too much about it. Enjoy your day."
Sora sighed and shook his head as he headed for the exit. In the last few years, Sora had learned that not all surprises were the good ones – especially with what he'd dealt with in the last year and a half.
Reaching the front gate, Sora realized that it was raining outside. He turned up his lips and frowned. Kairi had told him to bring an umbrella with him to school today when she picked him up but he had declined, declaring that a little rain wouldn't hurt him. But now that he saw the storm clouds Sora realized that he should probably listen to Kairi more often.
A vaguely familiar black sports car with tinted windows pulled up to the front steps and a person hopped out of the driver's side, disappearing under a large, gray umbrella.
Sora looked closer, stepping out into the rain to get a better view of the mysterious person. When they made their way to the front steps of the school and tilted the umbrella back, Sora's eyes widened and he went sprinting towards them.
Sora dropped his backpack and collided with Jasmine, forcing her to drop the umbrella as he embraced her tightly.
"Jasmine!" Sora half shouted, staring deep into her bright gold eyes. He scanned over her quickly and stared at her simply without saying a word for the longest time.
"It's good to see you too, Sora," Jasmine said quietly as she returned his hug, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding him close. "I missed you."
Sora pulled back, realizing that they were both being soaked by the rain. "Are you the one who's picking me up?"
"Uh huh," she replied. Jasmine bent down and closed her umbrella, walking over to the car and opening the passenger door for him. She threw the umbrella in the backseat and hopped in on the driver's side. "We should get going. I don't think we should stand out here in the rain for very long."
Sora smiled sheepishly, realizing that he was the reason why they were both wet and grabbed his backpack. He got in the car and closed the door behind him, watching as Jasmine fastened her seatbelt. She reached into the back seat, produced a towel, and threw it in Sora's lap.
"Wouldn't want you to get sick," she explained before she drove off.
"How did you know?" He laughed, ecstatic to see Jasmine alive and out of Vanitas' hands.
Jasmine shrugged and drove off. "I just always keep random stuff in my car. You never know what you'll need at a moment's notice."
Sora agreed. As usual, Jasmine's logic was sound. "So what are we doing? Where are we going?"
Jasmine started to drive off and kept her eyes on the road. "I really don't know where we're going," she admitted honestly. "I just needed to talk to you. Name any place and that's where we'll go or we can just drive until we figure it out. It doesn't really matter to me. I can have you back on campus at whatever time you need. After all it's only 10 in the morning."
Sora glanced at the clock on her dashboard. He could have sworn that it was later. Then again, foul weather always seemed to drag out everything, including days.
"I guess we can drive around," Sora suggested. "I never really know what to do during the day anyway," he laughed. "I'm usually at school."
Jasmine gripped the steering wheel and headed toward the highway. "How about this…I'll take you around Radiant Garden for a while. That should eat up a good chunk of our time seeing as we have to use that new bridge they just built connecting the islands. Then we can get lunch. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me!" Sora strapped on his seatbelt and got comfortable. He stared at Jasmine, noticing her subtle physical changes from her toned/muscular arms, more pronounced cheekbones (most likely from weight loss) and her longer black hair with a (deliberate?) silver streak near the side of her face. Sora had to admit it though, while she still had the appearance of a young woman, he couldn't deny that her eyes seemed to be the key to her more advanced maturity. It wasn't that she had wrinkles around them, but it seemed as though they now held a wisdom that he hadn't seen before.
"So…" Sora began slowly, "how long have you been back?"
"About four days," Jasmine replied. "I escaped a few days ago and spent three days at Tifa's house sleeping."
"Three days?" Sora's internal smile diminished slightly. 'No wonder,' he noted mentally. 'She must be exhausted…especially since she's been Vanitas' prisoner for months. I'd be tired too,' he sighed.
"Yeah," she answered. "I was really out of it. Being with Vanitas for that long was…exhausting to say the least." Jasmine glanced over at Sora and saw that he had a million and one questions for her…but it was clear that he didn't know how to approach her with them. She looked back at the road, happy to see that it was fairly clear. "Sora," she said calmly, "don't be afraid to ask me questions or talk to me. I know it's probably a little awkward now with everything that's happened, but if there was ever a time to ask me something, now is that time."
Sora cringed. He almost forgot how blunt Jasmine was at times. But she never did it out of hate or malice. That was just how she was.
"Did he hurt you?" Sora asked slowly and hesitantly.
Jasmine's face became unreadable. It was clear that she was sorting through her thoughts to try and figure out how to best word her answer. "No," she replied, earning a surprise reaction from the spiky-haired youth. "He didn't lay a hand on me. In fact, he treated me like a princess."
Sora reeled back as if he couldn't believe what Jasmine had said.
"It's the truth, Sora," she told him. "Things have changed."
A brown eyebrow shot up in suspicion. "Changed?" He repeated. "What do you mean?"
"I want you to reach into the glove compartment and look at the photograph on top," Jasmine instructed. "We can start from there."
Sora's heart began to race from anticipation. He slowly reached into the glove compartment and saw a stack of photographs, taking the first one as Jasmine had instructed. He exhaled and flipped the back over so that he could see what she was talking about and his jaw dropped. His blue eyes scanned over the photo of him, Jasmine, and Vanitas when they were younger and he looked to Jasmine for an explanation.
She caught his expression from out the corner of her eye and sped up.
"Looks like we have a lot to talk about then," Jasmine sighed, realizing then and there that this was going to be a long day.
Noctis waited not so patiently for the elevator to take him to the top floor of the apartment building where he and Jasmine lived, sorting through the mess that was his mind. He glanced at his watch and frowned. It was nine o'clock at night and Jasmine was surely back by now. He had originally intended to be waiting for her when she got there but Tseng called him out for a meeting that took up most of his day.
But that meeting was nothing compared to the meeting he had with Ignis the day after Jasmine came back.
"You weren't supposed to get hurt," Ignis told Noctis when the two were finally allowed to be alone in the interrogation room. When Noctis first arrived and saw Ignis sitting there, the blue/black haired prince immediately flew into a fit of rage.
In fact, if it weren't for the two guards standing with Ignis and Tseng in the room (armed) Noctis would have more than likely attacked Ignis right there on the spot.
Noctis had a hard time taking everything in all that Ignis and Tseng had told him at first. Once he was restrained by the guards and started listening to more and more of the story, Noctis calmed down slightly and was in awe at what had taken place. Finally, after years of searching and hiding, they had located the king of the Lucis thanks to Jasmine and Ignis – the former traitor of the Lucis Kingdom.
Ignis stared at the prince, recalling the past that led to this moment. From the time he was born, he was raised and groomed to be the advisor to the would-be king of the Lucis Kingdom. Ignis would never do anything to truly harm Noctis or do anything to jeopardize their mission of reclaiming their kingdom. Even though Noctis and Ignis had occasionally clashed – in part due to Ignis' shrewd plans and Noctis' temper – Ignis only had Noctis' well-being in mind.
"So she knows everything now, huh?" Noctis said after a long pause, realizing that they had another issue on their hands.
Ignis nodded and adjusted his glasses. "Well I've left out a few details to protect your privacy but Jasmine has a fair idea of what's been going on with our kingdom. To be honest, I think she knew more than she let on."
"And that's why you did it." Noctis concluded, glancing at the leg that had been shot and his anger had fully subsided. He should have known better. Ignis always put Noctis and the country first, even before himself. Ignis was known for his shrewd logic and so Noctis should have foreseen a plan like this. Once he realized this, Noctis felt guilty for cursing Ignis' name.
"We did not come to SOLDIER with the intent of being mercenaries," Ignis stated clearly. "We came here because we needed more resources to take back our kingdom. This is not the way we were meant to live. One day you will take the throne and I and the rest of our group are destined to assist you. But we could not do so with our kingdom being torn apart by enemy nations. After the king disappeared we had to do something to protect you and the crystal and SOLDIER was the best way to accomplish that."
"And you asked Jasmine to help with finding my father?" Noctis question was more of a statement than anything.
Ignis nodded his head slowly and exhaled, inwardly smiling upon realizing how fortunate they were that Jasmine practically fell into their laps. It was almost a gift from God.
"Yes. Like I stated, Jasmine isn't aware of all the intricacies of our situation and I've taken care to make that so. You see, Jasmine has a connection to our enemy."
Noctis' eyes widened at this, as if to ask "how?".
"Granted it's a very loose connection," Ignis added quickly. "But it's still something that works to our advantage. You see…she has a connection to the commander of the Niflheim army – the man who led the war against Lucis to begin with. Once I was able to hand Jasmine over to Vanitas – who has direct contact with that country's leaders – I was finally able to get in and gain valuable information needed to help reclaim our kingdom and rescue the king. Vanitas' uncle works with the commander and, in turn, has given his support to Niflheim. Jasmine is Vanitas' ex-fiancée. "
Despite the good news Noctis realized very quickly the dangers of that plan and became alarmed. "So you used Jasmine to get information on Niflheim by way of Vanitas…the guy who tried to kill her."
Despite the severity of Noctis' claim, Ignis was unapologetic. "I know you understand that I will do anything for our kingdom. Miss Valentine knows this too."
"But to send her into something of this magnitude blind…?" Noctis challenged, his voice level rising. "The moment anyone found out she would've been killed."
"She agreed to allow herself to be taken by Vanitas and gave me permission to do what I had to do so that we could find the king," Ignis argued, realizing that the prince was becoming angry again. "Miss Valentine knows that she holds a great deal of dangerous and potentially damning information and realizes the risk involved. I offered her the chance to not take my deal on numerous occasions but she agreed regardless. She was not pressured to go along with my plan even though she knew she would be in potential danger."
Once Noctis reached the top floor of building where he and Jasmine stayed, his nervousness doubled in intensity.
There was so much that transpired in the last few days and he knew he needed to talk to her about the future.
Noctis mentally cringed. He wasn't the best at conversation to begin with and then to try and talk to Jasmine about what happened during his meeting with Tseng and Ignis, well, it actually frightened him.
"And it's not just us. Ventus, Terra and Aqua have their own reasons for allying with her too." Ignis added on an extra piece of damning information to the conversation, further upsetting the young prince. "But in truth the three of them do genuinely like Jasmine, especially Ventus given their friendship, but Aqua and Terra – like us – realize that befriending her will also help them reach their goals. It's just the way this works."
Noctis absorbed the conversation thus far, sitting in silence for near of five minutes until he came to his own conclusion about the situation.
"So she's just a tool then," Noctis stated darkly as he glared at Ignis. "And we're taking advantage of her situation to get what we want."
Ignis fell silent, the expression in his eyes being all the answer Noctis needed.
'Dammit.' Noctis' frown further cemented itself in his handsome face when the doorman greeted him. This was not the way he wanted this to turn out.
When Noctis entered the apartment he found that the only thing that filled in the silence was the sound of the piano that sat in the living room. He followed the sound and sure enough, he found Jasmine sitting at the piano with her back to him.
"I'm back," he called loudly in order to get her attention.
Jasmine's playing came to a complete stop and she removed her hands from the keys as she spun around to face Noctis. "Welcome home," she greeted quietly. She stood up and pulled down her sweatshirt. "Are you hungry? I cooked for us but I didn't know when you would be back."
Noctis' appetite had completely vanished after his meeting with Ignis that day. If it weren't for the fact that he was constantly training, Noctis wouldn't have eaten anything at all in the last few days. The conversation they had was not one he wanted to touch and it weighed heavily on his mind. "Not really," he declined politely.
Jasmine shrugged her shoulders and pulled a stray strand of hair out of her face and tucked it into the massive bun sitting on top of her head. "Not a problem." She approached Noctis slowly then and eyed him carefully, watching for a reaction. "Did you want to talk?"
Noctis thought back to his conversation with Ignis. How long had his advisor known about Jasmine's connection to SHINRA? Would Ignis have done all he could to save Jasmine from Noctis if she hadn't been connected to their war?
"I've grown to like Miss Valentine," Ignis told Noctis. "And that is the honest truth. We may clash at times but I do appreciate her. If I really didn't think that she could handle Vanitas I wouldn't have put her in that position. But the man is madly in love with her and he's sorting out a lot of his issues. Rest assured, she was never in any immediate danger. I know Tseng wouldn't hesitate to throw her to the lions however, I am not like him in that aspect."
Noctis' eyes hardened and he opened his mouth to say something but was cut off quickly.
"Just like I know that you've grown to like her as well," Ignis interrupted, stopping Noctis dead in his tracks. Ignis crossed his arms over his chest. "That is also something we need to discuss as well. I know that you're fond of her."
"She's a member of my team," Noctis argued, trying to quickly squash the conversation, knowing full well where it was going. "I look at her the same way I would Prompto or Gladiolus."
Jasmine knew from Prompto and her own experiences with Noctis that conversation did not come so easily for the prince. As much as Noctis tried to hide behind his cool and uncaring façade, she and the others knew that at the root of it all he just used this to cover up his shyness.
"We can talk whenever," Jasmine told him with a gentle smile. "It doesn't have to be now – just whenever you feel comfortable. Okay?"
Noctis cursed inwardly. This was one of those rare moments when Jasmine let her own façade slip, revealing her kind and gentle nature. She was almost easier to deal with when she put up a wall: no emotion, no surprises.
The prince took a seat on the couch nearest to him and Jasmine followed suit.
"I saw my friend today," Jasmine announced. "I went to see Sora Irino."
"Vanitas' cousin?"
"Yeah. I went for business reasons and selfish reasons. I was hoping that maybe he could give me more insight on Vanitas' childhood seeing as there's been a lot of change with him recently. But I also went to see Sora because he was my friend. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss him or any of my other friends."
'Friends, huh?' Noctis thought as he stole a glance at Jasmine.
Ignis was less than convinced. Reports of Noctis' behavior since Jasmine's kidnapping proved to be a bit telling. "Prince Caelum, you know your position and as well as hers. As much as we all like Miss Valentine there are a few facts that can't be ignored. The first is that she is not from our country. You know how the king looks at outsiders. It was hard enough getting him to accept Prompto. Secondly, while she may be on our side she still is connected to SHINRA. That alone should make you want to keep your distance. And finally, if you did have feelings for her you know that nothing could ever come of it. She is not of royal or noble blood. You two could never be together. The council wouldn't allow it. When we leave SOLDIER what do you expect to do? Bring her along with you? As what?"
Jasmine pulled her feet to her chest and rested against the arm of the couch. She smiled, almost in satisfaction and turned her gaze to Noctis. "You know," she began slowly as her smile faded, "I missed you and the others a lot when I was with Vanitas. Not a day went by that I didn't think about coming back here…especially you."
A feeling Noctis was not familiar with stirred within him, causing his heart to race for reasons unknown to him.
"I'm just trying to get you to think about the future, Your Highness," Ignis continued. "I'm only looking out for you and Miss Valentine alike. I want you both to be at peace. That's all."
"I know we haven't always gotten along," Jasmine continued thoughtfully, "and I know that at the beginning I was inexperienced and hated that I was here, it's all grown on me."
"What has?" Noctis asked curiously.
"This life," Jasmine replied simply. "Waking up here, cooking us breakfast, going to school when I was actually in school, cooking us dinner, and going out on the occasional mission. It's starting to feel more natural."
'A life together…' Noctis closed his eyes, a deep frown etched into his face.
This was the first time that Noctis actually thought about the future after SOLDIER since Jasmine was kidnapped. Once their business in regards to the kingdom of Lucis was over, Noctis and the others would most definitely return home and step back into the roles they left. But now, with her so imbedded in their lives, would they really just be able to leave without her?
Jasmine yawned and covered her mouth. "I don't know," she rubbed underneath her eyes. "We clearly can't do this forever because I know that you're going to go back to your kingdom but for the time being, I appreciate this thing that we have."
Noctis hesitated, not wanting to know the answer to the question he had in mind. "And after Vanitas is no longer an issue, what then?"
The young woman fell silent instantly, the heaviness of the question and her own uncertainty of the future causing all to stand still in her world.
Jasmine cracked her knuckles and headed for the kitchen. "That's the thing: for the first time in my life I don't have it all planned out. I don't know what I want or where to go anymore."
Author's Note: I swear to you all, I had at least four different versions of this chapter typed up and each version was ten pages if not longer in my document. To be honest, Noctis and Jasmine's relationship is one of the most difficult things I've ever had to write. Anyway…
hopefuldreamer1991: I promise there will be more moments with Tifa and the others in this story as well as the next one. As for Riku and Jasmine's conversation, it is coming, my friend.
Lola: Glad you liked it!
Roxas4Ever: Yup! You will see Roxas very soon. And thank you!
Guest: There will be more family moments for sure.
Platform934: Yay for feels!
meyoume: So many tears!
NoLumostheSun: They're all going to come back soon! I can guarantee that.
Guest: Even if it was for a short while, they needed to see each other. After all, Tifa was basically Jasmine's mother.
Skeleus: Glad you enjoyed the chapter and all the feels.
LongTimeReader: Agrabah is more distant. You see, I have a system set up (but I can't reveal that just now because it'll spoil the next two stories) and Agrabah is part of the islands…but not at the same time. It'll make more sense with the side story. Trust me, EVERYONE will be there.
GUEST: I hope that means you like the chapter!
Sookdeo: Noctis will start to make more sense as the story progresses. Unfortunately for now a lot of the enemies haven't appeared yet so I have to keep him in the dark for now. As for Jasmine taking down SOLDIER or her feelings towards the idea, that's also something I have to keep under wraps for now. Lol I'm keeping my mouth shut on the whole Agrabah situation. But yes, there was a third engagement however, not everything is as it seems. And yep, three long years. I have half a mind to actually either write to you all via Tumblr (where you can all see my explanation) or record a video of myself talking to you all and thanking everyone. Hmm decisions decisions.
Sarah K.R: Me too. Part of me hated keeping Jasmine away from everyone for 80% of the story. I really liked her friendships with the other KH characters. Ventus is one of my favorites. He seems to be the perfect balance not only between Roxas and Sora, but he is also someone who can relate to Jasmine more. He's in SOLDIER just like her but he's the one who can still keep a bit of lightheartedness despite the severity of his job. I adore him. Thank you for the support.
Alright you guys I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Thank you thank you for all the support you all have given me thus far and thanks for sticking with this. Like I said this story has taken three years and I appreciate all the reviews, faves, alerts that I still get.
Please let me know what you guys think in a review (I'm also very curious as to what you guys think of Jasmine and Noctis' relationship) and I'll see you next time!
