Ventus yawned, his mouth stretching to its limits. "Axel," he mumbled once he plopped down into a patio chair. "This was a terrible idea."

The blond was exhausted from the night before at Noctis' party – having admitted that he drank entirely too much this time.

Ventus groaned, feeling as though he reeked of alcohol even though he took a good shower before he went to meet Axel. It was a miracle that he even made it out of his apartment. Ven imagined that he might still be drunk.

"What?" Axel, unlike Ventus, appeared quite alert and well-rested. He smiled and sat down across from him. He stretched his arms out and looked to the cloudless sky hanging overhead, happy that he'd picked a table on the patio for their meal. "Don't blame me for this – you agreed to grab food with me. No one told you to get hammered last night," he chuckled.

Ven ran his hands through his slightly disheveled blond hair. He slumped in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How are you not hungover?" He asked the redhead. "You drank more than me."

Axel shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. "I guess I'm just lucky…plus being in the nightlife industry helps. I know how to pace myself."

Ven struggled as he read over the menu. Nothing looked even remotely appetizing. In fact, he was sure that once he was done with breakfast, he'd probably end up with his head in a toilet the minute he got back to his apartment.

"It was a good party though," Ven said with a slight smile as he browsed the 'side' section of the menu.

"I agree." Axel reached for the glass of water in front of him and downed a good portion of it before waving down a waitress. "Jasmine sure knows how to throw one hell of a party."

"Noctis seemed to enjoy himself," Ven added. "That's all that matters."

Once the waitress came by, Axel gave her his order and looked to Ven who was still visibly struggling. "Can you get my friend a breakfast burrito? He needs something to fix his hangover."

Ven cracked a smile but rolled his eyes once the waitress was gone. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"What?" Axel feigned ignorance. "I'm just helping you out. You look like you'd rather have your head in a trashcan right now."

Ven lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not that bad," he argued.

Axel rolled his eyes. "Sure thing, buddy."

"When did you get home last night?" Ventus asked curiously. He had to admit, everything started becoming hazy after about midnight.

"I left a little after one in the morning," Axel replied. "I'm glad I called a car to take me home. I couldn't have driven."

Ventus arched an eyebrow in confusion. "I thought you were fine last night."

Axel chuckled. "I still got drunk; it doesn't mean I had enough to get a hangover though."

The waitress returned with a pot of coffee for the pair and set it down in the center of the table for them. When she left, Axel poured himself a cup and then poured one for Ventus who thanked him for it graciously.

"I'm glad I live in the same building," Ventus said. "Shoot. I don't even remember getting past the living room."

Ventus drank from the white mug steadily, welcoming a hot piping cup of coffee after a long, crazy night.

"I barely made it to my bed," Axel added, carefully watching Ventus.

"Me too," Ventus said as he set the mug down.

Axel reached out and grabbed a packet of sugar. He tore off a corner and began pouring the contents into the mug. He snickered to himself before grabbing one of the wooden stir sticks sitting on the table.

"So which bed did you end up in? Yours or Jasmine's?"

Ventus stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw-dropping at Axel's comment.

"What the hell are you talking about, Axel?"

The redhead was, as always, cool, calm and collected.

"I know you guys are sleeping together," Axel announced. "I saw footage of you guys at one of my clubs. Plus, I already approached her about it before the party last night."

Surprisingly, Ventus started laughing. "Damn," he said in between breaths, "that's annoying."

Axel leaned back and smiled. As he'd expected, Ven had a much different reaction than Jasmine did.

"Don't worry," Axel chuckled, "I didn't actually see anything more than you two making out. I'm sure you guys saved that for the bedroom."

"What did Jasmine say?" Ventus asked curiously after he'd calmed down. It all made sense now why Axel was so adamant about the two of them going to breakfast the next morning. "I'm sure she wasn't too happy about being exposed."

"Of course," Axel replied. "She freaked out."

Ventus shrugged his shoulders and smiled ruefully. He could definitely see Jasmine being more embarrassed about the situation than he would be. After all, in the grand scheme of things, them being caught would be more…problematic for her given her situation.

"So…" Ven drawled out, leaning back in his chair as he folded his arms over his chest. "What's the deal?"

"Look," Axel cleared his throat and pushed back his coffee mug. "I'm gonna give you the same spill I gave her: I'm not gonna say a word. It's not my place, and it's not my business. I really only told her because I was gonna congratulate her."

"For what?" Ven asked, clearly puzzled.

"I thought you guys were in a relationship," Axel answered.

Ven straightened up in his chair. While Axel's reply seemed sufficient enough, there had to be more going to it. "I thought you and Roxas were good friends."

Axel smirked and grabbed the spoon on his right. He stirred his coffee. "Well, I think it says more about her that she's hooking up with her ex's almost identical cousin."

"To be fair, I didn't know for a long time that she and Roxas dated," Ven revealed. "I just know it didn't end well."

"It was a shit show," Axel deadpanned.

Ventus' eyes widened. "Really?"

"They were both really young and stupid," Axel said simply. "They had a fight back and broke up."

"That's it?" Ven asked curiously.

Axel took a sip of his coffee and continued.

"For their actual relationship? Yeah. My theory is that Roxas still had feelings for her even after he knew that she and Riku were a thing – he just wouldn't say it."

"I'm sure he wouldn't," Ventus began, closing his eyes and thinking of his younger cousin. "From what I heard, Riku and Jasmine really loved each other. Roxas wouldn't want to get in the middle of that."

"Full disclosure," Axel began, "I think if they weren't so immature back then, it could've worked out. But the fact is, Jasmine was all over the place when she came back after joining SOLDIER. So, Roxas cut it off. He realized that if he didn't put a stop to the back-and-forth, things would get worse."

"Wow," Ventus breathed. "I didn't realize it went that deep with them."

Axel shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, but Roxas is with Olette now and the kid is happy. Jasmine is in a whole other world now and I don't think that, even on his best days, he could deal with that situation – not that it's her fault though."

"I agree," Ventus stated.

"Exactly. It's not her fault her parents got murdered by Vanitas' people. I feel bad for her. She's had to deal with a lot and to be frank, she's still a kid. But the relationship stuff? She wasn't good at it before and she's probably not any good with it now."

Ventus grumbled under his breath. Even though Axel made some solid points, he still didn't like hearing Axel talk about Jasmine like that.

"Listen, this isn't some kind of 'Bash Jasmine' session," Axel clarified. "I really do like her. Is she messy? Absolutely. But I don't think it's really her fault. If she had a normal situation, this wouldn't even be a conversation."

"So now what? What was the point in telling me all this?" Ventus asked curiously. "You're not gonna say anything."

"Nope."

"So, what's the deal? I don't think you came down here just to give me a history lesson on Jasmine's relationships."

Axel sighed heavily. "I was just curious about something…"

"About what?"

"Are you guys just friends with benefits?"

Ventus laughed good-naturedly. "I'm not gonna lie, this is kinda weird."

"What is?"

"This," Ventus replied with an apologetic smile. "We're cool Axel, but I don't know you that well. Me and Jasmine's situation is between us. I'm not gonna expose her."

"Hey! I get it. That's your lady – for all intents and purposes. I was just curious. Plus, I was actually happy for you guys."

Ventus laid down his defenses, albeit only slightly. "Really? Why?"

"I was." Axel cleared his throat. "I don't think I've ever seen her this happy and I thought that maybe, just maybe, she finally found a good guy who could handle all her ups and downs."

"Huh…" Ventus' voice trailed off. Honesty? He was completely caught off guard by Axel's response. "What about Riku? I thought they were supposed to live happily ever after."

Axel shrugged. "I guess. But if I'm being honest, I'm not sure they'll ever work out. Like I said, I think she's happiest when she's with you – there's no drama. I just hope you don't end up hurting her."

Ven reeled back, shocked that Axel would say such a thing. "Of course not!" he snapped. "She's my best friend."

"Yeah yeah, I know the story. Best friends…who sleep with each other on a regular basis. Which leads me to my next point…what are you gonna do?"

Ventus stared at Axel curiously, not knowing what the redhead was getting at.

"You guys can't keep this up forever," Axel elaborated. "And even though she's mature for her age, she's still really young."

Ven groaned loudly, not wanting to talk about this further. "She knows she can leave at any point. And if she wants to be with Riku, then she can do that. I'm not gonna stop her from being happy."

Axel noticed a flash of worry in Ven's eyes as he talked about his future with Jasmine. Something appeared to trouble Ven and Axel figured it would be best to wrap this particular conversation up. "So, do you like her?"

"Duh," Ven replied dryly, "she's my best friend."

Axel narrowed his eyes sharply. "Don't play dumb with me. Do you actually have feelings for Jasmine? Or is this just some arrangement between you guys?"

"Like I said before," Ven inhaled sharply and gave Axel yet another rueful smile, "I won't do anything to hurt her. I'll handle it."

"That doesn't answer my question," Axel quipped, quickly realizing that Ven wasn't going to give him a straight answer.

Ven shrugged his shoulders. "I know."

Once the waitress returned, Ventus asked for a take-home container for the food he hadn't yet eaten.

Axel leaned back and studied Ven carefully. He understood that Ven wasn't going to give him an answer. Not because it was harsh or cruel, but more than likely because even he didn't have an answer himself. At least not one that he wanted to share.

The redhead smirked. It definitely seemed that there was more to Ven than met the eye.

He was more than sure that this wouldn't be the last time this issue popped up.

He would bet his right hand on it.

Jasmine's eyes fluttered open, only to quickly shut once she was met with the light of the early afternoon. She stretched out her arms and legs while yawning, trying to recall the events of late last night.

Once she started to come to, Jasmine noticed that sheets she was laying on top of weren't hers. Jasmine's bedding was a deep purple while the comforter she was on was a dark navy color. She jumped up, immediately regretting it because of the almost-instant headache she'd gotten, and quickly realized that she wasn't in her bedroom at all.

Jasmine sat on her knees and looked around the room. In no time at all, she figured by the color scheme, the clothes on the floor, and the familiar scent around her that she was in Noctis' bedroom – the one room in the apartment she was never supposed to be in.

She gasped and instinctively looked at her clothing. Luckily, she was still in her black leggings and cropped tee shirt from the night before and everything else seemed to be in place.

Jasmine exhaled and then looked to her right where she saw her reflection in the mirror nearby. Aside from her messy black hair and the dark circles under her eyes, nothing seemed to be too out of the ordinary.

"How the hell did I end up here?" She whispered under her breath.

"You passed out," a booming male voice replied, making Jasmine nearly jump out of her own skin.

Jasmine whipped her head to the left and saw Noctis, who also appeared a bit disheveled, sitting in a chair on the far side of his room near the window.

Once the weight of the situation hit Jasmine, she immediately blushed and jumped out of his bed. "I'm so sorry!" She apologized. "I shouldn't be here. I'm sorry."

Noctis leaned back in his chair and stared at Jasmine with an unreadable expression on his face. "Did you forget what happened?"

Jasmine drew a blank. Last night was a bit of a blur after two in the morning. Most of the guests had left for the night and she and Tifa cleaned the apartment. Once Tifa left, Jasmine remembered talking with Noctis in the living room about the party but everything after that was a blur.

"We were talking," she said as she ran a hand through her hair. "And you said you had to get something, and you told me to follow you." Jasmine hopped off the bed and apologized once more. "I know I'm not supposed to be in here. I'm sorry if I passed out in your bed. Where did you sleep?"

Noctis rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "We both fell asleep in my bed."

Jasmine's eyes widened and her cheeks immediately turned red. "Oh God…" Her mind jumped to farthest of extremes and she wondered how in the world she got into this predicament. I mean, sure she and the rest of her family and friends had a night of drinking, but with all that was going on, Jasmine was sure that nothing like THIS would have happened.

"Nothing happened," Noctis reassured her. "We just talked. That's all."

Jasmine breathed a sigh of relief and plopped back down on Noctis' bed. "That's good," she said finally. "I don't think we'd ever hear the end of it."

Noctis continued to stare at Jasmine, his heart sinking as he recalled the events of last night. "So, you don't remember anything at all?"

"Of course I do," she answered.

"Do you remember everything?"

Flashback

Jasmine sat on the edge of the sink in one of their space bathrooms. She'd just needed to use the restroom and to get away from all the noise.

She turned on the sink and then, once the water was cold, she cupped her hands and began drinking. Jasmine realized that she'd had way more to drink than normal and knew that if she didn't get something other than vodka in her system, she'd regret it in the morning.

Jasmine did crack a small smile though. She'd never seen Noctis look so happy and relaxed before. Usually, the prince was reserved, impersonal and stoic. But tonight, he was friendly, open and very easy-going. She knew that part of it was the alcohol, but part of this was genuinely Noctis being at ease and having a good time.

Once she was done, she headed out but, upon doing so, almost bumped right into Noctis.

"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed as she jumped out of Noctis' way and into the dark hall. "I didn't know you were there. Were you waiting to use the bathroom?"

"No," Noctis replied, "I was checking on you. You disappeared and I went looking for you."

"Aww," Jasmine smiled. "That was nice of you."

She closed the door behind her and laughed. "I guess we should be getting back to the party."

"Yeah, probably," Noctis agreed.

Just as Jasmine began to walk off, she was stopped when Noctis gently grabbed her elbow. Startled, she whipped around with a confused expression on her face. "What's wrong, Noctis?"

He released her elbow and apologized swiftly. "Nothing…I just wanted to say thank you."

Still a bit confused but appreciative, Jasmine relaxed. "No problem. But you've already said thank you a million times. I'm just happy that you're having a good time."

Noctis took a step back, feeling his nerves starting to get the better of him. "I know but, I really mean it." He paused and inhaled sharply.

Jasmine studied his face. Judging his expression alone, Noctis had more on his mind than he was sharing at the moment. "Come on, Noctis. Talk to me. What's going on?"

"It's just…" He sighed again and turned his back on Jasmine, finding himself a little embarrassed to be opening up in such an open way. "I haven't had too many good memories of my birthday since I had to leave my home. And being here, with your family and my friends, well…it kinda feels like home to me."

Jasmine's jaw dropped in disbelief. While she was aware (at least in a general sense) of Noctis' past, she had no idea that something as simple as a birthday party would mean so much to him.

"It feels like, at least for a bit, things are okay," Noctis continued distantly.

A heavy silence lingered between the two of them. Jasmine looked for the right thing to say but seemed to draw a blank. Though her own situation was difficult, Noctis' story was nothing short of tragic. He was a prince, forced to flee his own country and live in hiding. That was something she could never relate to no matter how hard she tried.

"Hey," Jasmine reached for Noctis' shoulder, giving it the most subtle squeeze.

Noctis flinched at the action and looked over his shoulder to meet Jasmine's sympathetic gaze.

"I know it's not Lucis," Jasmine began slowly, "and I know that it's hard to go through each day with such a heavy burden on your shoulders. I don't fully understand it, but I know it's not easy for you. That's why I wanted to throw you this party. At least you could make one happy memory."

Noctis was touched by Jasmine's kindness. Though he never spoke about his situation to her, at least not in great detail, he knew that she had some awareness of how he and the others came to SOLDIER. Deep down, he felt as if he'd failed his friends, his father, and his kingdom. He didn't feel as though he deserved to celebrate anything, let alone his birthday.

"It's nice of you, Jasmine," Noctis said finally, unable to face her. "I just feel like days like this can't go on forever. Like we're all just biding our time. It's like all of this can disappear in a second. It's hard to get comfortable or be happy when I know that can change at any moment."

Jasmine let go of Noctis and reached down her shirt and pulled out a silver locket with a heavy black string. After removing it, she walked around Noctis so that she could show him what she had.

"This is supposed to be your birthday present," she whispered.

Noctis curiously looked at the trinket, finding it to be rather ordinary. "What is it?"

Jasmine fiddled with the locket for a moment and snapped it open. When she opened it up, it revealed what appeared to be a small SIM card. She placed it in the palm of her hand for Noctis to see.

"It's a tracking chip," she explained. "Do you remember when I was in Niflheim?"

"Yeah," Noctis replied. He remembered months ago when he and his team were on an assignment and he'd randomly bumped into her. She actually saved his life but taking down a guard that he did not see as he was ascending the stairs. However, Jasmine never revealed the reason why she'd been there in the first place, especially when she was supposed to be on a completely different assignment altogether.

"I was on my assignment looking for something related to Master Xehanort," Jasmine continued. "While I was there, I overheard a conversation talking about a prisoner. I didn't know who they were talking about and almost left. But then I heard them talking about a king from a foreign country…"

Noctis' eyes widened in shock, desperately hoping that Jasmine would say the words that he so badly needed to hear.

"They kept moving his location from one country to another because he was high level. But initially, nothing came of that conversation. Later, I found the same men about a month and a half ago, and...remember when I went out on an assignment for a few days last week?"

"Yeah…"

"I figured out that one of those men work for SOLDIER," Jasmine finished. "Tseng placed him there to see if your dad was the prisoner. When I reached out to our agent, he said that he thought he was fairly sure. Earlier today I received the official word that it's King Regis. He was being held in Midgar but he'll be transported to Hollow Bastion in a week. He gave your dad a tracker." She held out the item to him. "You can use this to find your dad. He's alive and he knows you're coming for him."

Noctis felt as if his world had shifted. As he reached for the small device in Jasmine's hand, his hand began to tremble. He turned over the tracking chip in his hand and closed his eyes, picturing his father's face. What had so long eluded him was now literally in the palm of his hand. After all this time, all these years of searching, Noctis finally knew where his father was. And, what was even more relieving, he found out that his father was alive.

"It was really lucky," Jasmine said after a brief pause. "Really lucky if I'm being honest. I wouldn't have been able to do this on my own. I didn't want to say anything until today because, well, I didn't know if it was actually your father. I didn't wanna send you on a wild goose chase just for you and the others to be disappointed."

Noctis remained silent, his heart beating so intently that he was sure that others could hear. He couldn't believe it.

Jasmine folded her arms across her chest and took a step back away from Noctis. "I know that I kinda dropped something heavy on you but now you can leave and go look for your father and get your kingdom back. Think of this as a going-away party too."

"What do you mean?" Noctis asked, lifting his head to meet Jasmine's gaze. The prince was stunned to find that Jasmine's eyes were tearing up.

"You don't have to stay here anymore," She replied in a quaky voice. As soon as the tears began to fall, she wiped them away with the sleeve of her shirt. "I know you're only here because you guys were hoping SOLDIER could help you find the king. You guys can go and find him. There's no reason for you to stay anymore."

In that instant, the truth of Jasmine's words began to make sense to Noctis. Other than helping out SOLDIER with whatever remaining missions they had, Noctis and his team could go and leave Radiant Garden to find the king. Which also meant…

"I knew that one day you'd leave," Jasmine revealed, "I just didn't know it would be so soon. But I couldn't keep the news to myself. It would be selfish of me to hide this information when I knew how important it is for you to get your dad out of there."

"Jasmine – " Noctis began, only to be quickly cut off.

She shook her head and took a step away from Noctis. "I know I'm not supposed to go with you, even though I want to help. I'm really happy that you get to go home, but I'm gonna miss you. I'm gonna miss all of this. Our apartment, Prompto, Ignis, and the others, and I'm gonna miss being your partner."

Noctis watched as Jasmine tried to dry her tears. She rarely expressed herself or showed him this level of emotion but now (no doubt also due to the alcohol) she was completely exposed. While it pained him to see her so sad, he couldn't help but be taken aback by how strongly she felt towards the team and their life together.

And then it hit him…

Much sooner than he thought, he and Jasmine would go their separate ways.

"I'm not going anywhere right now," Noctis said weakly, the gravity of the situation now weighing heavy on his heart. Truth be told, even though this had been discussed before, Noctis didn't want to leave Jasmine. He couldn't picture his days without her.

"But you will," Jasmine told him. "You can't sit here and say that you aren't going to leave and go back to your kingdom. Because you will – and you have to."

"It's not like I'm leaving tomorrow," Noctis protested, the feelings he'd kept at bay starting to bubble up to the surface.

Jasmine shook her head fervently and looked to her hand. She eyed the ring Noctis gave her and pulled it off her thumb.

"The sooner you go the better," she insisted, walking towards the prince. Jasmine forcibly opened his hand and placed the ring there, forcing it shut. "You don't know if they change the plan and move him."

Just as Jasmine began to back away, Noctis grabbed her wrists – not with enough pressure to hurt her, but with enough strength to keep her from leaving.

"Jasmine, stop!" he commanded.

She immediately froze from the sternness of Noctis' voice.

"Listen to me," he began. "I don't want to leave you. You're as much part of this as is Prompto and the others."

Before Jasmine could protest again, Noctis pulled her into a tight hug. She opened her mouth to speak but found herself without words, finding herself immediately comforted and safe while wrapped in his warm embrace.

"It's up to you," Noctis said, staring deep into Jasmine's eyes. "I care about you and can't imagine what my life would look like without you." He took the ring Jasmine returned to him and slipped it right back on her thumb.

"But Noctis," she muttered, confused and flustered beyond belief.

"Think about it," Noctis told her. "Don't think on it tonight but give me an answer in a week on what you wanna do. I want you to come with me but I won't be mad if you chose to stay."

"But what if I weigh you guys down," she argued.

"You're tough. I've seen you get better over time – after all I watched you train. You can handle yourself," he rebutted. "Besides…"

Noctis pulled Jasmine closer so now they were face to face and chest to chest. As Jasmine looked up, she realized how close their faces were to each other. Her heart skipped a beat and she found herself mesmerized by the intensity of Noctis' deep blue eyes.

"I know I've messed up before, but I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I meant it when I made that promise months ago and I mean it now. I'll always be there to protect you. SHINRA, Vanitas, even SOLDIER – I won't let anyone hurt you."

Noctis and Jasmine were brought back to reality when they heard some call for them in the distance.

Realizing their time was cut short, Noctis shook his head. "I want you to come with me. It'll be dangerous, but we'll all protect you. And if anyone – including Tseng – has a problem with it, they can talk to me. I know it's a lot to ask so I don't expect an answer right away. Just think about it, okay?"

Weakly, Jasmine nodded her head in understanding.

"Thank you for everything," Noctis said with a small smile.

Before Jasmine could say anything else, he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek and squeezed her hands. Then, just as quickly, Noctis left the area and shoved the chip into his pocket.

End of flashback

Jasmine felt her cheeks flush when she recalled the moment when Noctis kissed her. She brushed her hair out of her face and stared him directly in the eye.

"I have a week, right?" She asked distantly.

Noctis nodded. "Yeah. If you need longer, I'll understand."

Jasmine stared at the floor beneath her. Something told her that if she agreed to go with Noctis, it would change everything, possibly forever. And even though she didn't want to ask this out loud, she had a sneaky suspicion that she might not come back home any time soon.

Or even at all.

"One week then," Jasmine said finally. "I promise."

Author's Notes: Hello everyone! I hope you're all continuing to stay safe out there! I apologize for such a lengthy chapter. There was a lot of stuff I wanted to cover and a lot of tiny plot points that needed to be covered to get this story moving towards the second quarter. I'm still debating on splitting this story in two but we'll see how the next arc goes.

Rynxenvy: I'm staying safe! I'm a little bored but other than that I can't complain! I hope you're doing well! We'll just have to wait and see who it was who Jasmine sent those texts to! But you'll find out soon, I promise.

Hopefuldreamer1991: I'm glad to hear that you're doing well and in a safe space – especially with work! I just hope you liked this chapter! As usual, thank you for the continued support!

Rawrrbreee: You gotta love Axel, right? We all need that one friend to let us know we're making a fool of ourselves haha.

What did you guys think of this chapter? I know it was a lot but I want to know what you guys think? With this one, I was trying to force a lot of characters' hands so that they can finally move forward with the current drama. What do you guys think Ven will do? Do you think Jasmine will agree to go with Noctis? I'd love to hear what you all thought!

Leave a review and let me know what you think! As usual, stay safe everyone and I'll see you next time!