Author's Note: I'm going to apologize in advance for the EXCEEDINGLY lengthy chapter.
"Traverse Town?" Jasmine asked curiously to the person on the other end of the phone call. "What's going on there?"
"We've been alerted that there's a heavy SHINRA presence on Traverse Town," Tseng, Jasmine's boss told her. "I'm sending you, Ventus, Aqua, and Terra out there to do some reconnaissance."
Jasmine sat at the desk in her bedroom and shuffled around a huge stack of papers sitting on top. "How long will we be there?"
"Just one," Tseng replied. "It'll be an overnight trip with a chance that you'll stay depending on your findings."
Jasmine pressed the mute button and let out a heavy sigh of relief. While she would normally dread the idea of a spur-of-the-moment trip, Jasmine welcomed this one with open arms. Especially since it would give her a bit of time away from Noctis.
"You'll be given your briefing packet tomorrow afternoon and then you'll head to headquarters for dispatch. Is that clear?"
"Copy," she replied sternly. "I'll await further instruction."
With that, Tseng hung up and Jasmine set her phone to the side.
Jasmine looked down at her sweat-soaked gym clothes and grimaced. She had just come from her training session at the gym on the SOLDIER campus and hadn't been able to shower or start her day yet.
A loud knock on her door snapped Jasmine out of her thoughts. She adjusted her glasses and headed for the door. Once she pulled it open, she was surprised to see Noctis there.
"Oh, hey," she said casually, trying her best to appear composed. "What's up? Did you just get back too?"
"Yeah," he replied, still wearing his own gym clothes. "I had to stay a little later and talk to Prompto."
"I see," Jasmine trailed off, shifting her eyes to the floor. "I have to talk to you."
Noctis lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. "About what?"
Jasmine shifted uncomfortably on her heels and leaned against the doorway. "It's not about…you know…the thing," she began distantly, "Tseng is sending me out on a mission tomorrow."
"Just you?" Noctis asked curiously.
She shook her head and said no. "It's with Ven's team. We have to do recon on Traverse Town. Tseng says it's just an overnight trip. I should be back the next day in the afternoon."
Noctis folded his arms over his chest and frowned. Judging from his disapproving look, he was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "I'm free. I could always go as a backup."
"Don't worry, Noctis. I'll have Terra and the others. You can just relax and hang out with the boys," Jasmine insisted with a smile. "I'll be back before you know it."
The prince was visibly bothered when Jasmine mentioned Ven's name. Though she had maintained that she and the blond were just friends, there was still something a bit bizarre about their friendship. But, Noctis knew that now was not the time to poke and prod at Jasmine and Ventus, especially since he was trying to convince her to come with him back to his home.
"Alright," he said, clearly uncomfortable but surrendering nonetheless.
Jasmine, who was very much aware that she looked like a sloppy mess from her workout, excused herself. "I gotta take a shower and run a few errands."
"Before you go," Noctis said before she closed the door, "what are you doing later on tonight?"
"Umm," Jasmine absently twisted the door handle and thought about her to-do list for the day. She hadn't made any major plans other than running around Radiant Garden for a bit. So, in theory, she was free. "Nothing really. What's up?"
"I was thinking we could go to the movies," Noctis proposed.
Jasmine was taken aback. In the entire time they'd lived together, Noctis had NEVER asked her to go to the movies with him. Generally, it wasn't something he seemed to do on a normal basis with his team, and it seemed even more out of character now given the current state of their friendship.
"With Prompto and the others?" She asked hesitantly.
Noctis chucked and offered her a rare smile. "No. Just the two of us," he clarified. "What do you say?"
Given the fact that Jasmine didn't have any tangible reason as to why she couldn't go, Jasmine felt compelled to just agree now and worry about it later. Plus, she didn't want to offend Noctis.
"Let's do it."
"Alright. Can you be ready by 6?"
Jasmine nodded. She rocked back and forth on her heels (something she often did when she wanted to go elsewhere but couldn't) and shifted her gaze to the ceiling. "Yeah. Now," she made a motion towards her bathroom, "I kind of have to shower and stuff…"
"Oh! Right," Noctis mumbled. He quickly turned on his heel and headed back towards his room. "I'll text you later."
Once he was gone, Jasmine hurriedly shut the door, locking it tightly behind her. She leaned against the door and slid to the carpet, plopping down on her rear end. Pulling her legs close to her chest, Jasmine let out a long, exasperated sigh.
'This is so awkward,' Jasmine thought to herself.
Since her conversation with Noctis the night of his party, she noticed that he'd been a lot more open and friendly with her – especially the day after she went to Naminé's for the girl's night. While she felt good that she was finally able to talk through her problems with a friend, she was still feeling a bit unsure of what to do.
Jasmine was fully aware of how she felt about Noctis and the others: she cared for them deeply and would put her life on the line for them without a second thought. But to drop everything she knew and run off to Noctis' kingdom (wherever that was) seemed a bit unreasonable.
If she and Noctis were in a steady, stable romantic relationship with the promise of a future, then maybe she would consider it. But they were just work partners who'd only just become good friends months ago. Plus, she had her own mission with Vanitas and Master Xehanort that she had to complete before things could go back to normal or settle down.
Just before her brain took her down that spiral, she heard her phone vibrate in the distance. Jasmine jumped to her feet and grabbed her cell phone off her bed, finding that she had a text message from Ven.
Almost instantly she felt guilty.
Since the night of Noctis' party, Jasmine hadn't spent as much time with Ven as she would normally. But with this new set of problems staring her in the face, it was hard to reach out to anyone, much less the guy she was semi-involved with.
Sooner than later, Jasmine would have to tell Ven that one, their secret was out and two, that Noctis had a proposition for her. While she knew that there was a very big chance that she'd say no to Noctis, the fact of the matter still remained that he would be leaving which threw her living arrangements into question.
She swiped her finger across the screen and leaned against her bed.
'Long time no see, stranger. We should get together tonight. We should go over some stuff about the mission.'
Jasmine groaned. There was so much more than the mission that they had to talk about.
'Sounds good. Plus, I need to talk to you about something.'
Jasmine hit "send" and clutched onto the phone for dear life. Almost immediately, she received another text.
'I'm pretty sure I have an idea haha. I talked to Axel. I figured we should talk about this.'
Jasmine felt her blood run cold. Even though she knew Axel knew, she didn't expect that he would actually say anything to Ven. And from their last conversation, she expected that Axel wouldn't say anything at all. Why would Axel bring Ven into this if he seemed so against spreading the information?
'Why would Axel tell you anything? I spoke to him before the party and he promised that he wouldn't tell anyone.' She replied tensely.
It took a good few minutes for Jasmine to receive a response from Ven, each minute seemingly longer than the last. When she finally heard the familiar "buzz" of her phone, she anxiously opened the text, only to be confused by the reply.
'Trust me, he had your back on this one. And he won't tell anyone else. You and I have to have a chat. There's some things I want to tell you.'
'What do you wanna tell me?'
"Nope. Gotta be in person."
Jasmine rolled her eyes. Ven was being unnecessarily cryptic for her liking today.
'Fine.'
'Meet me at 11 o'clock on the dot!'
Once Jasmine confirmed a meeting place to go with the time, she set the phone down and headed for the shower. She felt her stomach twist into knots. She had a bad feeling about what was to come.
"Oh, come on, Riku!" Sora moaned, staring in disgust at the small plastic juice bottle in front of him. "I don't wanna!"
Riku, who sat across from Sora at their outside table of the smoothie shop, held out a bottle just like Sora's in front of him. The only difference was that the liquid inside of his was orange while Sora's was green. "Don't be a baby," Riku chided with a mischievous grin. "Kairi told me to make sure you drank the whole thing. Remember? We have tests coming up."
Sora sank in his chair and folded his arms over his chest.
"You and Kairi are conspiring against me," the brown-haired, blue-eyed boy said in an accusatory tone.
Riku rolled his eyes and unscrewed the cap on Sora's drink. "It's an herbal juice shot. It's supposed to give you energy and strengthen your immune system."
"Then why isn't she taking one with us?" Sora asked as he watched Riku slide the juice shot closer to him.
"Because she's already studying with Naminé. They both took theirs in front of us," Riku reminded him. "The only reason why we got more is because you accidentally kicked the table and knocked the other ones over."
Sora puffed out his chest and focused his attention to the dark, evening sky. It was true. Earlier in the day, the group met up in the library for a study session. Kairi brought the juice shots for everyone to try and Sora, who was busy leaning in his chair on its back legs, accidentally shook the table when he fell back. Now, as punishment for his clumsiness, he and Riku had to get more PLUS snacks for everyone in their study group.
"It was an accident," Sora whined. "I didn't know I'd lose my footing!"
Riku chuckled and downed his shot without flinching. Sora gawked at his friend and pointed a finger at him.
"That's not fair! You actually like this healthy junk!"
The silver-haired teen shrugged his shoulders. "In reality, you should blame Kairi and Selphie. Apparently they did them at their girl's night and it kept them awake until the early morning."
Sora grimaced at the shot and snatched it up. He quickly downed the contents of it before faking a gagging motion, resulting in Riku breaking out into a fit of laughter. "Fine. Both of them are in trouble."
"You're such a baby," Riku teased.
Once Sora composed himself and discarded the plastic bottle, he changed the subject. "Kairi told me that Jasmine came for their girl's night."
"Oh really?" Riku asked, his curiosity peeking through his normally cool façade. "I didn't know that."
"Kairi told me this morning. She said she wasn't sure Jaz would be able to come but when they got to Naminé's house, she was already there drinking."
Riku felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. Still, he wanted to maintain his cool. "That's good. I'm sure they all had a good time."
Sora smirked. As much as Riku tried to hide it, Sora knew that his friend was curious about anything involving Jasmine. "Uh-huh. I think she's trying to come around more. I guess her job is letting her have more of a social life now which means we can all hang out again. Have you talked to her recently?"
"Not really," Riku replied casually. "We talked the day after the festival but that's been pretty much it."
Sora frowned. He thought that Jasmine and Riku were making some headway. It seemed as though things were good for that one day and then they went back to how they were beforehand. "Why not?"
"Because I'm not trying to pressure her, Sora," Riku explained wisely. "We're trying to build back our friendship first and then see what happens."
Sora mulled over the thought. In hindsight, when he really thought about it, he'd never actually seen the two of them interact on that deep of a level in person. And for the most part, Riku kept a lot of their conversations secret. Sora knew that Riku and Jasmine were private people so their growth would probably happen away from the group. After all, they started their friendship and relationship in secret, why should that change now? They probably wanted to take it slow after everything that happened.
"Kairi also mentioned the beach day to her," Sora revealed. "I guess she mentioned that she might come if she didn't have an assignment that day with her partner."
"Oh yeah, that prince," Riku trailed off distantly.
Sora cringed. Even though Riku and Jasmine were still technically just friends, it was clear that they both had feelings for each other. And while Jasmine swore that she and Noctis were just friends, Sora knew that Riku was a bit jealous of him – or any guy that Jasmine seemed to hang around.
"Be nice," Sora chided. "Jasmine said he's not that bad. They're really good friends, that's it. Naminé and Kairi told me so. You don't have anything to worry about."
Riku shrugged his shoulders and remained silent.
Before Sora could open his mouth and reason with his friend, his eyes shot open and his vision went to the crowd of people walking by the smoothie shop. Heading away from the shop, Sora spotted a very familiar young man who could've easily passed as his twin. However, this person had black spiky hair, glowing amber eyes, a hardened expression on his face, and a checkered past to match.
"What is it?" Riku asked, noticing Sora's distress.
Sora rushed to his feet and glared in the young man's direction. "It's Vanitas," he announced, baring his teeth.
Riku's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits and he rose, searching for the man in question. "What? Where?"
Sora pointed to the street and immediately took off with Riku close in tow. "Let's follow him. When Vanitas appears, it means that something is up."
Riku nodded and spotted Vanitas ahead of them.
It had been quite some time that Vanitas had shown up. Even though he'd been told that Vanitas made some form of truce with Jasmine, Riku still had his own personal vendetta against him, especially for what happened with himself, Sora and Roxas.
Vanitas disappeared down a dark street that led into a residential area. The pair continued to follow closely but slowed once the crowd thinned out, hoping that they wouldn't immediately alert Vanitas of their presence.
Once they were halfway down the block and there was no one else around, Vanitas stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around to face Sora and Riku, an arrogant smirk plastered on his face.
"You guys aren't that good at sneaking up on someone," Vanitas chided as he folded his arms across his chest. "You should leave that to people like me and Jasmine."
"What are you doing here, Vanitas?" Sora asked, ignoring the dig.
Vanitas casually shrugged his shoulders. "Clearly I'm walking. Or is that not obvious. It's a free sidewalk."
"Cut it out," Riku snapped, now standing maybe six feet from Vanitas with Sora at his side. "We know you're not here for a casual visit."
"You need to get out of here," Sora added, his fists now balled.
"Oh?" Vanitas feigned hurt. "But, dear cousin, I just came for a little stroll about town. I thought you simple island people were supposed to be welcoming."
Sora pulled out his cell phone and held it out for Vanitas to see. "Not when you have a warrant out for your arrest."
Vanitas chuckled and stared at the two boys, recalling the first time he'd come across both of them. "Come on guys. It's been years. Aren't we past this already? I haven't bothered you or caused any type of disturbance."
Riku glared at Vanitas, the painful memories of the past threatening to bubble over. "You're the reason why Jasmine had to leave the island. You're also the reason why her parents were killed."
"Oh, right," Vanitas turned his back on the pair. He looked over his shoulder and stared directly into Riku's eyes. "You're supposed to be the ex. How's that been working out for you?"
Riku almost charged Vanitas, had it not been for Sora stepping in and holding him back.
"Good. You should keep your friend in check, Sora," Vanitas said in a mocking tone. "He's way out of his league."
"You've got some nerve," Riku fired back.
"So do you," Vanitas said tiredly. "Stella!"
The sound of a gun click behind Sora and Riku caused the boys to freeze. They looked behind them to see a young woman with mid-length blonde hair, side-swept bangs, and sharp, pale blue eyes behind them with a slate gray handgun pointed in their direction.
Vanitas smirked and threw both his hands behind his head. "Even if you both wanted to take me in a fistfight – which would not end well for either of you – you still can't beat a gun. You'd be dead in a heartbeat."
"Not quite," another voice chimed in.
Vanitas whirled around and standing across the street with his own gun drawn, was none other than Ventus.
"Oh! My old friend Ven!" Vanitas shouted cheerfully.
"Shut up," Ventus yelled as he slowly approached the group, his focus being solely on Vanitas.
Vanitas snickered. "That hurts. After all we've been through, we're practically brothers!"
Ventus rolled his eyes and adjusted the glasses on his face, now standing between Stella and the boys. "You're still a freak I see. Nothing new here."
"Nope. You're still the sore loser who couldn't even protect his master," Vanitas shot back gleefully.
Ventus removed the safety from his gun and then pointed it to Stella, who in turn pointed it at Ven.
Vanitas yawned loudly. "As much as I'd love to see this fight, Stella and I have more important things to do. And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want a fight to break out with civilians in the midst of things, right Ven?"
"Then call her off," Ventus shouted, making his way between Stella and the boys.
After a brief pause, Vanitas waved to Stella to drop her weapon, which she did immediately. "Ah, Ventus, forever the pacifist. I wonder how long that will last."
"I wouldn't rush that day, Vanitas. You and I have a score to settle."
Vanitas chuckled darkly, the sound of it ringing with a certain amount of danger that no one could deny. "Oh, I know. Let's go, Stella."
His blonde assistant brushed past Sora, Riku, and Ventus, quickly joining her employer at the hip. Vanitas and Stella started on their way. Before they disappeared, Vanitas called out an ominous, foreboding message to Ventus.
"I'll see you soon, Ven."
The young SOLDIER member glared at Stella and Vanitas, making sure the two were long gone before turning his attention to Sora and Riku.
"Are you guys okay?" He asked sincerely, looking over both of them to make sure they were alright.
"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks, Ven," Sora said graciously.
"We appreciate it," Riku added quickly.
Ven sighed and put the safety back on his gun. "What were you guys doing following Vanitas of all people anyway?" He slid the gun back into the holster on his hip and pulled down his gray sweatshirt to conceal the weapon. "I know you know how dangerous he is."
"We followed him to see where he was going," Sora replied. "When Vanitas pops up, he usually is up to something or goes after Jasmine."
"I see." He placed a hand on Sora's shoulder and offered a kind smile. "She's lucky she has friends like you guys."
"Looks like we were lucky that you showed up," Riku turned his attention to Ventus. "Were you tracking him?"
Ventus nodded his head and folded his arms over his chest. "I heard that he was spotted somewhere around the downtown area so I went looking for him. I actually saw you guys at that smoothie shop and was going to say hi because he hadn't turned up yet, but then I spotted him and followed you guys."
"Sorry if we blew your mission," Sora apologized, feeling a bit embarrassed at how everything went down.
Ven grinned from ear to ear. "You didn't do anything wrong! I was just supposed to watch him and make sure he didn't do anything stupid. That's all."
"You weren't going to arrest him?" Riku asked curiously. "I mean, isn't he a criminal?"
"Not today," Ventus revealed. "Usually Vanitas has a couple of extra hired hands with him. And if you think he's crazy, you should see his bodyguards. I'm more than sure that if I tried to take him, it would probably end in a shootout that would get innocent people killed. Plus, aside from you guys, I don't have backup with me. Just too messy."
"I'm sure he does that on purpose," Sora mused to himself.
Ventus agreed with Sora. "That's why Vanitas has been so difficult to catch all these years. As deranged as he is, Vanitas is really smart and he usually has a plan B, C, D, and even a backup for his backup. He's also a really capable fighter. He's strong and he doesn't care who he kills."
"But you could take him, right, Ven?" Sora asked, slightly unsettled by hearing how dangerous his cousin truly was.
"I'd say so. But still, he fights really messy. It's not worth people getting hurt or killed. I'll run into him again."
Sora and Riku looked to each other, both of them understanding Ven's reasoning.
"You guys should get back home," Ventus told them both. "I know you can handle yourselves, but it would make me feel a lot better if you went back to the college."
Riku sided with Ventus on this one. "It's probably for the best. We can always tell Tifa and the others to keep a lookout."
"That's not a bad idea," Ventus agreed.
"Are you gonna let Jasmine know? I know that Vanitas isn't necessarily gonna hurt her – "
"As far as we know," Riku interrupted.
"But," Sora continued, sharing Riku's sentiment, "she should still know. Doesn't she live nearby?"
"Yup," Ventus replied. "Me, her and that prince all live in the same apartment building. I'll let her know as soon as she gets home."
"Where is she?" Riku inquired.
Ventus paused, racking his brain. He and Jasmine just had this conversation not long ago. "I think she went out with her team or something." He laughed at the thought. "I wouldn't worry. I don't think Vanitas would come near Jasmine, especially if she's with Noctis."
"Is he really that strong?" Sora asked. Jasmine had once told him about the mysterious prince but she kept the details pretty close to the chest. "She told me he was tough."
"Yup," Ventus replied. "Noctis is easily the best fighter in SOLDIER right now. As cocky as Vanitas is, I don't think even he would try it. Noctis is fast, he's strong, he's good at predicting people's actions. To be honest, he's kind of a badass. Even on an off day, he could probably take out five men on his own with his bare hands. I've seen him fight. Honestly? He's not human."
Sora's jaw dropped and he had a newfound respect for the prince. "Wow! He sounds so cool!"
"The only issue Noctis has is that he's socially awkward," Ventus said with a chuckle. "You should've seen him before he met Jasmine; it's like night and day."
"Really? How bad was it?"
"He would barely talk to anyone. It wasn't because he's a 'stuck up' prince," Ventus added the air quotations. "He just has a hard time connecting with people on a friendly level. But after she moved in, he started getting better. I have zero doubts that she told him straight up how he was acting. Most people are kind of afraid of him, but I've seen Jasmine say things to Noctis that no one outside of his circle would even think of telling him."
Sora laughed, very familiar with how blunt Jasmine could be at times. "Riku would know that better than anyone else. Right, Riku?"
Riku nodded but remained silent. Thinking on his early interactions with Jasmine brought on a certain nostalgia of simpler times – times he wished so badly he could run back to. But, Riku quickly forced those thoughts out of his head and shifted his focus to the present.
"They're just really good friends," Ventus told the pair, turning his attention to Riku. "I'm sure the two of you could be friends too."
It was in that moment that Riku realized that Ventus was speaking specifically to him. Riku had no doubt in his mind that Ventus was aware of his and Jasmine's past.
"Tell you what," Ventus began, "you guys can visit me, I'll invite her over and we could hang out. I'm not on as tight a leash as Jasmine. It'll be fun!"
"I'm down!" Sora said cheerfully.
Riku thought that it would be a good idea. "Me too."
"Great! Now!" Ventus threw his arms over both boys' shoulders and led them back downtown. "Let's get you two back home. I'm sure Jasmine would kill me if I didn't make sure you both got home safely. Between me and you, if I had to worry about Jasmine or Noctis, I'd rather face him any day of the week."
Jasmine swore once she heard the news. "I can't even go to the movies without that creep popping up."
Noctis, who was seated next to Jasmine on their couch frowned. "Did you keep tracking him?" He asked Ventus, who sat opposite of them.
Ven shook his head. "No. I made sure that Sora and Riku got home safe. Given that Vanitas has kidnapped Sora before, I didn't want to take my chances. I gave them my number so that if anything weird happened, they could reach out to me."
"I appreciate it, Ven," Jasmine said graciously.
"Duh, any friend of yours is a friend of mine," he replied beaming.
Noctis sulked quietly to himself. Everything tonight had gone swimmingly. He and Jasmine went to the movies together for the first time and seemed to enjoy each other's company. Then, he took her to dinner where they actually seemed to be bonding. However, all that good cheer seemed to dissipate upon the news that Vanitas was on the island.
Noctis cursed himself for not putting Vanitas in a body bag when he had the chance.
"Seeing as me and Jasmine will be gone," Ventus faced Noctis, "maybe you guys can keep an eye out for him."
"And Stella too," Jasmine added. "She's usually not too far from Vanitas. If they're around, it can't be for anything good."
"I'll let Ignis and the others know," Noctis replied. "I'm sure they couldn't have gotten too far."
Ventus jumped to his feet and turned his attention to Jasmine. "I'd hate to cut this short Noctis, but can I borrow your partner? We have to go over the briefings for our mission tomorrow."
Noctis grunted and shrugged his shoulders. "Be my guest."
Ventus laughed inwardly at the prince. Noctis might have perfected his stoicism, but it was still clear as day otherwise that he was bothered by the fact that Jasmine was going to hang out with him.
Jasmine grabbed her keys and left. She patted Noctis' shoulder as she and Ven headed for the door. "I won't be too long, Noctis. See you in a bit."
The prince grumbled in response, earning a chuckle from Ven as the pair left and headed to his apartment.
Once Jasmine and Ventus were in the elevator, Jasmine exhaled as if she'd been holding something in.
"Did Vanitas mess up date night?" Ventus teased jokingly.
"It wasn't a date," Jasmine protested. She crossed her arms over her chest, a deep frown settling into her face. "We just went to the movies. That's all."
Ventus, who stood a few feet away from Jasmine, gave her a quick once over. He noticed that her long black hair (which was usually in a big messy bun sitting on top of her head) was tied in a neat, low-hanging ponytail. Instead of her usual makeup-free face, she added some mascara, eyeliner, and even filled in her brows. Finally, replacing her oversized t-shirt and old sweatpants, she wore a pair of skinny, dark blue jeans, a spaghetti strap top, a leather jacket, and low sandals with a slight heel.
"Well it looks like you both went on a date," Ventus argued.
"Technically no," Jasmine said firmly. "I went out for coffee with Tifa at a nice cafe earlier and didn't change clothes."
"Fair enough," Ventus said after accepting her story. It was true. When Jasmine usually went out with her family, she seemed to put a little more effort into her appearance. "Though I'm sure Noctis is going to think it was all for him."
Once they reached Ven's floor and went into his apartment, he flipped on the light switch.
Despite Ventus rarely being home as he often worked late or spent time with his friends, his apartment was a little messier than the average place. There was a pile of unwashed dishes piling up in the kitchen sink, dirty clothes falling out of the laundry basket, and move in boxes (some of them still full) in the living room.
Jasmine laughed and smiled ruefully as she hung up her jacket. It was one of the many similarities Ven shared with Roxas and Sora.
"I love how I got to hang out with all your boyfriends today," Ventus teased as he went into the kitchen.
Jasmine went to the living room and sat down on Ven's couch, covering herself with a blanket he used whenever he slept out there. "Don't remind me. Vanitas and Riku. You might as well go visit Roxas while you're at it."
When Ventus emerged from the kitchen, he had two glasses of water with him. He set them down next to Jasmine and rested his head on her shoulder. "I can do that if you like," he joked. "I can find out where his dorm is."
Jasmine's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "How about you don't and say you did?"
Taking heed of the threat, Ventus changed the subject. "So," he cleared his throat. "I know you wanted to talk to me about some stuff."
Jasmine's heart sank. She knew she had to have this conversation with Ven, but it didn't mean that she wanted to. Shifting so that Ven could still lay on her, Jasmine pulled out her pen and began smoking.
Ventus straightened up upon noticing the distress on Jasmine's face. He grabbed her hands and gave them a tight squeeze. "What's going on?"
"Well," thin streams of smoke began to seep out of Jasmine's mouth as she began speaking. "Axel knows about us, I told Naminé at girl's night, and Noctis wants me to help him rebuild his country – which would require me moving away with no guarantee of ever returning for some weird unknown reason." She turned to him with a rueful smile on her face. "What do you wanna start with? Or should you tell me your stuff first?"
Ventus' expression was blank. That was a lot of information to throw at him in such a blunt way.
"I'm sorry I said something to Naminé," Jasmine began apologetically. "I think I was full-to-bursting."
Ventus laughed, breaking the heavy tension in the room. "You don't have to apologize for that," he said quickly. "Naminé is trustworthy. I don't think she'll tell anyone."
"I think so," Jasmine said in agreement. "She's good at keeping secrets."
"Axel told me he found out about us the day after the party," Ventus announced.
"I don't get why he would even approach you with that," Jasmine said to herself. She looked at Ven. "What was the purpose of him telling you?"
Ven held his silence and stared blankly into space. He could recall that conversation with Axel perfectly (despite being extremely hungover). "He was worried that I'd break your heart," he revealed. "He thought we were together and wanted to make sure I had the right intentions."
Jasmine's body went stiff. "That makes no sense," she said after a brief pause. "I told him the day of the party what our situation was."
Ventus laughed. "I guess he didn't believe you."
Jasmine was fuming. While Axel had good intentions, he was meddling in things he had no business being involved with.
"But if I'm being honest, he just wanted to see what I had to say about it all," Ventus stated matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't be too mad at him. He's just making sure I don't take advantage of you."
"I guess…"
Ventus continued. "He asked me if I had feelings for you."
Jasmine's blood immediately ran cold. "What did you tell him?"
The blond chuckled. "Nothing. I just told him you were my best friend and kept it at that. I figured it would be better if I kept my mouth shut."
"Naminé asked me the same thing," Jasmine explained. "She asked me if our situation was the reason why I haven't gotten back with Riku."
Ventus stared at Jasmine curiously. "And what did you say?"
"I was honest," Jasmine began slowly, carefully choosing her words. "If me and Riku were supposed to be together right now, it would've happened. Right now, he and I are just friends and, unless something changes, it's going to stay that way. Even if you and I weren't sleeping together, we probably wouldn't be dating. After all, look at all the crap going on right now."
Ventus sat on this information quietly and decided to change the topic. "So, what's going on with Noctis?"
"I found his dad and gave him what he needed to get him. It's sad because I knew this day would come and that I'd miss him, but it seemed to come a little quicker than I thought."
"Is that why you went all out for his party?" Ventus asked.
Jasmine nodded her head. "That's part of it. I figured it would be the last time all of us could be together. He has to move out eventually and I thought we could all have a good time. That's when he told me that he wanted me to come along."
"But that there was a chance that you wouldn't be able to come back," Ventus finished.
"Yeah. I had a week to decide and now I only have a few days."
Ventus smirked and stared at Jasmine with an expression she hadn't seen before. "And you'd come along as what? Once he gets his home back, then what?"
"I don't know," Jasmine replied. "He never told me."
Ventus pursed his lips, appearing to be deep in thought. "Is he engaged or something?"
"No. Prompto told me that the girl he was engaged to years ago died."
"Oh man." Surprisingly Ventus started laughing, throwing Jasmine off. "You can't be serious."
"About what?" She inquired curiously. "You CANNOT be laughing at the fact that his fiance died."
"Jasmine, you're not seeing the bigger picture," Ventus leaned against the arm of the chair and looked her dead in the eye. "He wants you to come with him and help with that war – which I heard is pretty nasty – and you can't come back home. It should be obvious."
Jasmine remained silent, anxiously waiting for Ven to finish his thought.
"Noctis isn't looking for a buddy to come along for the ride: he's looking for his queen," he deadpanned.
Jasmine blinked and lost all the color in her face. "There's no way," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Ventus laughed and rolled his eyes. "Even if he isn't telling you this – which clearly he isn't – that's exactly what he and the others are thinking. Why do you think Prompto kept "jokingly" called you princess over and over at the party?"
Jasmine opened her mouth to protest, but her words had all but left her.
"Look, from what I know about Noctis' dad, I know he's a bit older. I'm more than sure that he's waiting for his son to take over. And since his old fiancé is gone, he's looking for a replacement," Ventus explained. "Noctis probably wants you to marry him once everything settles down."
"But I'm not a princess," Jasmine argued weakly.
"I don't think they care about that," Ventus stated plainly. "That's probably why they were initially against your closeness with him to begin with. But now, with an actual end in sight and no other options, he's trying to get his happily ever after."
A chill went down Jasmine's spine. While Ven didn't have any concrete evidence to support his claims, she had to admit that there was a strong chance that he was right. It would explain Noctis' behavior over the past few months as well as his increased desire to hang out as of late.
But it didn't feel right, especially under these circumstances. If Ventus was right, then Noctis was withholding information from her that would change her life forever.
"I have no doubt in my mind that he wanted to hang out with you tonight for fun," Ventus said. "But I also think he has other motives."
"I just have to talk to him," Jasmine decided, not wanting to hear any more of this conversation. "I don't think he'd keep all this from me and then spring it on me when I can't turn back."
Ventus casually shrugged his shoulders. "That would be the hope. But we also don't know how desperate he is. I'm sure he tried to convince you that he'd take care of you, right?"
"…yeah…"
Ventus could picture it clearly. Noctis telling Jasmine everything that she needed to hear in order to feel safe and secure, taking her out on dates, and even grooming her to become the queen.
And all this without her knowing what was coming?
The thought made Ventus sick to his stomach.
"I don't think he's a creep," Ventus began cautiously, "but he's not telling you everything. And if you say yes, you should only do so if he lays it all out for you."
"What if that's not what I want? Who says I want to marry him to begin with?"
"I'm just saying, that's a very real possibility. I know he's attracted to you and cares about you."
Jasmine shook her head, trying to get the thought out of her mind. "We haven't even kissed or anything like that."
"So?" Ventus laughed. "He'll probably save it all for the wedding night…if he can wait that long."
"I don't think I can do this," Jasmine thought out loud. "I'll deal with it all once I get back from the mission."
"That's a good idea." A thought crossed Ventus' mind and he chuckled.
"What?"
Once Ventus caught his breath, he leaned back and rested his feet on the coffee table. "No wonder he was extra grumpy when I asked to steal you. In theory, I'm sleeping with his future wife."
"But he doesn't know that," Jasmine reminded him. "And I'm not his future wife."
"Of course not, but I'm sure he's questioned it. Noctis and I are cordial, but he's not my biggest fan. If he knew what we were doing I'm sure he'd lose it."
"That's because you pick at him," Jasmine added.
"Not as often as you'd think," Ventus argued. "He's sensitive. Besides, I know deep down he's thought about sleeping with you. The only difference between him and me is that I'm actually going after what I want while he's sulking in the corner."
Jasmine frowned. She didn't like being talked about like an object. "I'm not just a play-thing."
"I know that. But that's how you and I treat each other."
"What are you talking about, Ven?" Jasmine asked, shocked at Ven for saying such a thing. "You know that's not the case. We're friends. You know I'd do anything for you."
Ventus recalled the night in Agrabah that kicked off the beginning of their affair. While everything else about them seemed friendly enough, as much as neither of them wanted to admit it, there was something very different about their connection that didn't seem like a simple fling.
"I know." Ven kicked his feet off the table and straightened up. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together, his heart and his mind battling one another.
Jasmine picked up on Ven's shift and became concerned. It felt like he was working up the nerve to say or do something and that something was a complete mystery to her.
"Are we only doing this because you're waiting for someone that it may never work out with?" He asked finally, his tone becoming heavier and more somber with each word.
Stunned, Jasmine shifted away from Ventus. The look of horror on her face was clear as day, which immediately became replaced with anger.
"How dare you…" Her amber/gold eyes were practically on fire. "We slept together back then because we wanted to. I could be wrong here, which I don't think I am, but we did it because we were attracted to each other and felt a connection."
"Sometimes I wonder what would happen if Riku came back around…" Ventus began distantly.
Floored, Jasmine rose to her feet and hovered over Ventus, her fists balled and trembling from anger. She had no idea why he was acting like this, especially when it had never been an issue before. "Who gives a shit? You and I have been sleeping together because we want to. And you've told me DOZENS of times that if that happened, which it may not, that you'd be fine with letting me go. What the hell is your problem?"
"I'm just thinking about everything," Ventus replied weakly, refusing to meet her fiery gaze. His expression was unreadable and emotionless, something that Jasmine had never seen from him before. "It's just a lot."
"But to insult me like this whole thing is on me? No. You're not going to do this, Ven."
Jasmine's fists eventually stopped shaking and she stepped away from Ventus. She rested her fists on the top of her head and closed her eyes, trying to compose herself.
"This isn't like you," Jasmine decided. "Something else is on your mind. What aren't you telling me?"
"I am telling you everything," he argued back.
"No, you're not," Jasmine snapped, opening her eyes to see that Ventus was also standing up too. "We were JUST fine. We JUST talked about Riku," she held up her index finger and then her middle finger, "and Noctis too. NEITHER of whom I'm pursuing romantically."
Ventus sighed heavily and frowned. "But you're still in love with Riku. Otherwise, you'd be with him."
Jasmine inhaled sharply at the response, feeling the anger continue to build and build and build until she couldn't hold it in any longer.
"YOU'RE STILL IN LOVE WITH AQUA, WHO IS IN A COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND! Make THAT make sense!" She exploded. "I'm choosing YOU, not him! Because he and I aren't working out! What don't you get about this?"
Ventus looked as if he'd been struck clear across the face, wounded by Jasmine's words.
"It's always about Riku or Noctis with you," she continued, shaking with fury, "but I've never EVER thrown Aqua in your face. Don't act like this is some one-way street. You and I are almost in the same situation but me, I'm putting distance between myself and Riku. Yes, I have love for him but it's not working, and I can't and don't want to make it work right now! But you were hurting too and sleeping with me because you can't be with her."
"Jasmine," Ventus started slowly, only to be swiftly interrupted.
"That's messed up, Ven," Jasmine spat. "I have done my best to communicate with you and to make sure that we were good throughout all of this. I slept with you back then because I wanted to and because I was attracted to you. NO ONE ELSE was on my mind. Plus, if there was any other guy I could possibly see myself with, it would have been you! You know how much I care about you! But, because I know how you felt towards Aqua, I kept it together and kept our situation for what it is. But for you to act like I'm just sleeping with you because I'm lonely and miss Riku is a slap in the face. In fact, you're worse than me!"
Ventus approached Jasmine cautiously, paying attention to just how volatile and upset she was.
"Jaz," he lowered his voice. "Listen to me…"
"No," Jasmine shook her head fervently and held her arms out to keep distance between them. "You and I," she motioned to the both of them, "this arrangement is done. I know I have my issues, but you've got some of your own. You have no right to act hurt over what I haven't done with Riku and frame this in a way that makes it seem like I'm using you when we were having fun. Clearly you can't handle it anymore so I'm calling it off. And for you to refer to me as a play-thing is low."
Ventus remained silent, his gaze shifting to the floor out of embarrassment. But then, when he heard a muffled sound and spotted a teardrop on his coffee table, he looked up to see Jasmine with tears in her eyes.
"You know who also used to call me a play-thing? After he assaulted me over and over again and blackmailed me?" She asked darkly. "Vanitas," she deadpanned. "Nice to know you feel the same way."
"That's not how I feel!"
"That's what you JUST said!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, causing the entire room to become pin-drop silent.
Ventus opened his mouth to speak but gave up. He knew he'd caused enough damage.
Jasmine wiped her tears with her forearm and inhaled to compose herself. "Let's just get through the mission," she stated plainly, "after that, we should take some time apart. I'll see you in the morning at base."
Even if Ventus could say anything, Jasmine had already stormed off and left his apartment, slamming the door on her way out. He plopped down on the couch beneath him and groaned, shifting his glasses to the top of his head.
Ventus looked at the pillow next to him and buried his face in it.
He grimaced. Even the pillow had Jasmine's scent on it.
This was not how he intended for this conversation to go.
Author's Note: It would be foolish of me to begin this without first acknowledging all of the obvious, inescapable chaos going on in the world right now. Keeping it short and sweet, my heart breaks for the state of the world. All I ask is that we care for ourselves and take care of one another.
Now…
I threw a lot of information and plot at you guys. I think that this is probably the most length chapter I've EVER written in my years of writing on this site. I apologize but I felt that breaking it up wouldn't do it any justice. That being said, what did you guys think? I'd really love to hear your feedback and thoughts on everything, especially with the last section regarding Ventus.
Hopefuldreamer1991: That's the one thing I'd like to do (and will start doing for future chapters) in regard to the lore of that game. Although to be honest, most of what I put into that set of characters comes from the ideas of FF Versus 13. And thank you for that! I sometimes wonder how it comes off because I'm openly rebelling against FF15 and using the old concepts so I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it. As for Ven…well…they have a lot to work out.
Rawrrbreee: You're quite welcome! I can definitely see what you mean about Naminé. I think that deep down she still is rooting for Riku but she's trying to be realistic with the situation. As for Noctis, I think that when we get to dive a bit deeper into his character (which we will), I think we'll understand him a bit better as well as the others. Also, I think you're the first person to call out how problematic Riku and Jasmine are at the moment and I love it haha.
Also, if you guys are interested, I updated the story 'Her Heart, My Love'. Yes, it's been several years (please don't kill me) and I've been sitting on it for quite some time. But now that I feel like I have a handle on all my other works, I can commit some time to it. It won't be nearly as long as these stories, maybe a few chapters longer than 'Perfect Blue' and it's a lot lighter in terms of content. Plus, I almost have the next Bridge series done. This one is short as well and details the period of time when Jasmine joined SOLDIER and first met Noctis.
Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter. I'd really love to get your feedback or even answer some questions. Thank you for all the reviews so far, I hope all of you stay safe and look out for a lot of new content in the next week!
Take care!