"It's been raining all week and you want to hammock?"

Rayne stared at Rue in disbelief as she watched her friend shimmy out of her narrow hallway closet clutching a cylinder of wrapped cotton cloth. Rue grinned, kicking the closet shut and hoisting the twisted hammock onto her shoulder.

"It's summer, Rayne. Besides, it's sunny today. Why the hell wouldn't you want to be outside?"

"Because it's damp?"

"Damn, thought you were an outdoorsman," Rue huffed, kicking her shoes off and waiting for Rayne to slide open the glass door to the patio outside.

"I'm not Gladio."

"Sometimes I forget."

Prompto ran over to them, nearly slipping on the wet grass. Gladio caught his arm with a smug grin.

"Watch yourself."

"Yeah, yeah." He snatched the hammock from Rue's hands and thrust it toward Gladio. "Here, help us out, big guy."

"Why can't you do it yourself?" The king's shield raised an eyebrow, taking a long drink from the glass bottle in his hand. "Have Rayne help."

"I'm done babysitting," Rayne huffed, flopping down on one of the lawn chairs and closing her eyes. The early summer sun heated her face and soothed her soul like nothing else in the world could.

"Fine."

Prompto laughed, resting an elbow on Rue's shoulder. She rolled her eyes, turning when she heard the back door open again. Ignis stepped outside, adjusting his glasses. He frowned at Gladio, watching him loop rope up on the trunks of the trees in Rue's backyard. Shoving Prompto away, she headed toward the advisor and rested her head on his shoulder. I'm lucky I live on the edge of town.

"You do realize it's muddy over there," Ignis warned her. She shrugged.

"That's okay, I'll be above the mud."

"If you can stay inside."

"Do you doubt my skill in laying in down?" She raised an eyebrow, lifting her head to shoot him a pointed look. He shook his head.

"It's your primary talent. I'm only concerned about balance with the both you in there."

"The fuck?" She laughed, shaking her head.

"Good enough?" Gladio asked, ducking under the low hanging branches of the trees and standing back to eye his handiwork. With a single nod and a grunt, he turned back to the patio. "Good enough."

"Whoo!" Prompto cheered, running toward the hammock and falling into the cocoon of warmth in the shade.

"Idiot," Rue muttered, grabbing her book and walking much more carefully through the slick grass. "Move over."

Prompto wiggled for a moment, struggling to make room. He gave up with a laugh.

"I can't. You just have to get in."

"Hold this."

Rue tossed her book at him and kicked her shoes off, holding onto the rough tree trunks for support. Awkwardly, she sat onto the edge of the hammock, trying to swing her legs inside. Her weight turned the hammock to the side and Prompto clung to the material, laughing until he wheezed as Rue jumped inside.

"See, it wasn't—"

The instant she let go to the trees, the hammock tipped sharply to the side, twisting under the weight of the both of them sitting in one half. Rue landed on her hands and knees in the mud puddle beneath the hammock, a sour expression crossing her face as the dirt splashed up across her face. Rayne howled, slapping Gladio's back as she gasped for air.

"Shut up." Rue dragged herself to her feet, scowling at Ignis when he dared to crack an amused smile. She flung the mud off her hands, glancing down at her soaked shirt as she headed back toward the patio. "This sucks."

"What'd you expect?" Rayne teased.

Gladio chuckled, shaking his head. Rue rolled her eyes, shooting a smug smile at Ignis. His face fell for half of a second before he composed himself again, stepping back once.

"Iggy, I scraped my hands," Rue teased, stretching out her muddy palms. "Wanna see?"

"Not particularly."

Ignis touched his glasses and stepped back once more. Grinning, Rue cocked her head to the side, taking a breath to reply before rushing at him. Ignis couldn't do much but tense, squeezing his eyes shut as she stained his nicely pressed clothes, hugging him tightly while she laughed as if this was the funniest joke she'd ever told.

"Gotcha," she teased, leaning her head back to catch his eye. Ignis sighed, refusing to look her in the eye. "C'mon, don't be like that. If Noct was here, he'd think it was funny."

"Doesn't change the fact that it's not."

"Don't be a baby."

"Ooh, got 'em," Rayne called, snickering. Gladio shook his head, muttering something to her that made her crack up and punch his shoulder.

"It'll wash out," Rue murmured, sticking out her bottom lip. "Don't be mad?"

"Is that a question?" Ignis asked, finally looking down at her. She beamed, knowing she'd won.

"No. I'm gonna go change."

With that, she headed inside, chilled by the colder air. Grinning from ear to ear, she threw open her bedroom door and took a deep breath. It was hard to imagine where it all began—the rejection from the one career that she could use to prove herself, the petrifying fear she felt around Noctis and his entourage, the absolute isolation that threatened to swallow her whole… All to this point, where said entourage was standing around her backyard laughing, ready to jump to her defense should someone else try to harm her again. She sighed, peeling off her soaked shirt and tugging on a sweater she found on the floor. She jumped when she felt a hand touch her back, turning to see Ignis raise an eyebrow.

"Jumpy."

"I was thinking."

"What about?"

"Just… Things." She looked down at his muddy shirt. "You're not gonna get me back, are you?"

"No." Ignis looked past her to watch Rayne tip Prompto out of the hammock through the window. He sighed. "I was going to change, but I'm afraid Prompto will follow in your footsteps."

"Maybe." Rue laughed, shaking her head. A comfortable silence settled around them and she rested her hands on his shoulders, cocking her head to the side. Taking a deep breath, she soaked in the moment until he tore his eyes away from the window and stared back. "I love this."

"This being…?"

"Everything." Her heart ached when she realized how lucky she was and she couldn't help but smile. This is so stupid. "They're out there having a good time, I'm in here with you, and any second, Rayne's gonna insult me while Prompto gets me all muddy again. It's perfect."

"You have a skewed definition of perfect," Ignis remarked. Rue rolled her eyes and smacked the back of his head.

"You don't exactly look miserable." He allowed a quiet laugh, glancing at the window once more. Behind her, the clouds parted and sunlight heated her back through the glass.

"I'm not."

"… I could stand here forever." Offering a slight smile, she pushed a defiant hair out of his face and watched the reflection of Prompto sliding around in the grass to escape a muddy Rayne in his glasses. "Did you come in here for any particular reason?"

"I was going to change, but it seems that would be a fruitless endeavor."

"Yeah, shit happens." She turned around to watch from the window, melting back against Ignis when he rested his chin on her head.

"… I could, too."

"Could what?"

"Stand here forever with you."

"Cool." She smiled when she could feel his irritation. "Then let's do it."

"I think Noctis would be opposed to that idea."

"So would any other sane person. But, like, we're kinda crazy."

"… Not particularly."

"Just for now, then. Indulge in your wild side, Ignis."

"If this is wild, I suppose I have nothing to fear in the eyes of the public."

"There we go. Embrace it."

Ignis laughed, shaking his head, but he didn't move, and she didn't mind the dampness that was soaking into the back of her shirt as it transferred from the mess she'd made. It was perfect. Gladio was running now, too, if only to capture Rayne and engage in some sort of PDA that would make Prompto go scarlet in the face. She really meant what she said. If she could stay here forever, inside with Ignis as the others had their first good laugh in a long time, she would. If nothing could ever change, she might have chosen to do so. But, then again… It was the crazy twists and turns that brought them so much excitement to begin with.

So, she captured it all in her memory, satisfied to know that, even though they wouldn't always be in her backyard, they would always be with her. Even if the world collapsed again and again, she would find them, and they would save her. Ignis would remind her why she chose to live in the first place—it was to be rid of loneliness, once and for all. Even if she couldn't be with them forever, she'd be with them for the rest of her life. He'd be with her for the rest of her life. Ignis really had no choice in the matter, not in her mind. If he was lucky enough to survive what the others didn't, she'd love him until the day she breathed her last. She nodded, determined. This time, it really was different. This was forever.

Unable to control herself, she beamed, slipping away from him and grasping his hand.

"Well, don't want to miss all the fun, do we?"

"You mean we shouldn't delay the inevitable?"

"Don't be such a downer," she retorted, pressing a kiss to his cheek and tugging him toward the door. "C'mon!"

"Ignis!" Prompto called from the living room, undoubtedly peeking his head in through the glass door. "Where'd you go, buddy?"

"Destiny calls," Ignis murmured, heading out the door without any further prompting.

Rue laughed, crossing her arms and watching him face his impending doom. Gods, I love you. Her heart skipped a beat when a very muddy Rayne trudged into the house, turning to stare down the hallway at her prey with her arms extended at her sides to appear even bigger than she was. Her eyes held a devilish twinkle that only her most unfortunate victims had the chance to see.

"You're next, bitch."

~FIN~

THAT'S ALL, FOLKS! THANKS FOR STICKING AROUND FOR THE ENDING OF THIS LITTLE WRITING EXPERIMENT (FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW, I NEVER WRITE THIRD PERSON PAST TENSE LOL THIS IS A BIG DEAL). MAYBE I'LL TRY AGAIN SOMEDAY ;)

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, I HAVE A LOT OF FINAL FANTASY FICS FOR 7, 12, 13, AND 15. I ALSO HAVE A FEW CROSSOVERS. FEEL FREE TO CHECK THEM OUT IF YOU HAVE TIME.

HOPEFULLY, I'LL SEE SOME OF YOU GUYS IN OTHER WORKS (I GET SENTIMENTAL ABOUT ENDING FICS OKAY DON'T COME FOR ME). BYE!