Jasmine shot up when her dream ended, eyes wild with panic.
She looked around her room and gave a sigh of relief, grateful to safe in her apartment instead of that disturbing nightmare.
She quickly glanced at her alarm clock. It was only 9:25pm which meant that she'd only been asleep for about 45 minutes – maybe even less than that. In theory, the boys should be still at that first lounge having a good time.
Sighing heavily, she flopped down against her pillows. Ignis had only taken her home an hour ago. Trying to be reasonable, she followed his advice, took a shower, and marched herself straight to bed. However, her sleep was less than peaceful because of nightmares and now she was a nervous, sweaty mess.
Then, her mind brought her back to the present.
Noctis and the others would be leaving in the morning.
Jasmine's chest tightened. While she wasn't in the best mental and emotional state, she was still very concerned for her teammates and their safety. After all, they were heading on a dangerous assignment to rescue Noctis' father, the king.
Disgusted by sitting in her own sweat, Jasmine practically flew to her closet and quickly changed into a clean, dry set of pajamas that Tifa purchased for her last Christmas.
Once she changed clothes she headed straight for the kitchen, taking in the silence of her enormous apartment – the place she would be by herself (mostly) for the next seven days while she waited for Noctis and the others to return.
Jasmine allowed her mind to wander as she reached into the cabinet to take down a glass. Heading over to the refrigerator and filling her glass with cool ice water, she thought about Noctis and the teams' mission.
'I just hope they find the king and don't run into trouble.'
And then her heart began to race as darker thoughts presented themselves to her.
'What if they run into trouble?'
'What if they can't find the king?'
'What if…'
Jasmine's blood ran cold at the thought.
'What if something happens to them?'
"Jasmine!" a male voice called out sharply.
Jasmine jumped and dropped the glass, causing it to shatter against the floor and the tops of her feet. Staying planted despite the scare, she looked over her shoulder and saw Noctis standing directly behind her.
Once she realized how much she overreacted, her face immediately turned a light shade of red.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, the embarrassment clear on her face. "I didn't hear you."
Noctis stared at Jasmine curiously, surprised to see her in such a state. After Ignis came back from dropping his partner off at their apartment, the prince was restless. Even though the group seemed to be having fun at Axel's lounge (with shots on the house as a gift from the redhead), Noctis' mind was elsewhere.
"Don't move," he instructed as he made his way over to Jasmine, his shoes crunching against glass as he stood in front of her. Noctis crouched down and examined her bloody feet. "Does it hurt?"
"A little," she admitted.
Announcing nothing, Noctis grabbed Jasmine by her waist and hoisted her up. Caught off guard, she latched her arms around Noctis' neck. Even though she knew he was strong, it still surprised her at how easily he could lift her.
The prince walked over to a nearby barstool and sat Jasmine down.
"I'll clean up," he said. "Just sit here."
"I'm sorry," she apologized for the second time. "I wasn't paying attention. I didn't mean to break it."
Noctis appeared confused by how much of a fuss she was making.
"It's just a glass, Jasmine," he replied simply. "It's not a big deal."
While Noctis flipped on the lights and went to quick work cleaning up the mess, Jasmine sank into herself.
She didn't notice him walk into the apartment.
Noctis could have literally been anyone and she wasn't being careful of her surroundings.
'My head isn't on straight,' Jasmine thought sadly to herself. But before she could go down the rabbit hole of bashing herself, she was pulled back to reality when she noticed Noctis crouched down in front of her with a rag, wiping off the blood from her feet.
"Noctis, what are you doing?" She asked, her face even redder than before.
"Wiping off your feet and getting out the glass," Noctis replied, unaware of the expression on her face. "I wasn't gonna let you just keep bleeding in the kitchen."
Jasmine turned away from Noctis, shocked that he was doing all this for her. "You don't have to do that," she stated. "I can take care of it myself."
Noctis rolled his eyes.
She was so stubborn. She never wanted anyone's help for anything.
Not a single solitary thing, even when it was clear that she needed help.
But then again…
She was probably used to being on her own.
"Jasmine," Noctis voice became much softer. "I want to help you. Can you just let me for once?"
Jasmine's heart skipped a beat. She knew that Noctis was just being kind to her. And here she was being standoffish, perhaps even rude.
"I feel guilty. You shouldn't have to do this for me."
"That's the thing," Noctis gave an exasperated sigh. "I keep telling you I want to. I know it's not something I have to do. But…" The prince rose to his feet and looked down on Jasmine, a sad expression on his face. "If you want me to leave you alone I can."
A silence fell on the pair, leaving each of them to their thoughts.
'I don't know why I'm forcing this,' Noctis said to himself. 'She doesn't even like me. I'm expecting way too much from her.'
Noctis sighed and tossed the bloodstained rag into the sink. Feeling frustrated and hopeless, he made it up in his mind to retire for the night. Then, first thing in the morning, he would tell Jasmine that they should just remain friends.
At least by the morning he could get the alcohol out of his system and stop embarrassing himself.
"Wait."
Jasmine grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, stopping Noctis dead in his tracks.
"I don't want you to feel unwanted," she explained. Once she felt him ease up, she continued. "I'm just used to doing everything myself. Apart from Tifa, or occasionally my parents, I've had to do it all on my own. I know you care and wanna help. I'm sorry."
Surprisingly, Noctis pulled away from Jasmine leaving her feeling ashamed.
She had been such a wreck ever since the Traverse Town incident and now she was hurting her loved ones in the process.
She hung her head, trying to fight the tears welling up behind her eyes.
She was still processing the entire incident, but she was doing a terrible job.
What if she lost her friends because of her behavior?
What if Noctis and the others chose to part ways?
Jasmine was brought back once she heard glass being swept up. Then, just as quickly, the droppings had been dumped in the trash can.
She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.
What if she never got it together?
Just then, Jasmine opened her eyes when she felt a tall, looming presence over her. She lifted her head and opened her eyes, immediately finding herself staring at Noctis who was standing so close to her that she could feel his breath on her face.
"What can I do to make you feel more comfortable around me?" Noctis asked gently.
"Huh?" Jasmine managed, thrown off by his question.
"I know you're not used to certain things, and I can't expect that to change overnight," Noctis continued, keeping the same soft tone he'd started off with. "But what can I do to make things easier for you so that you'd feel comfortable leaning on me from time to time?"
No one had ever asked that of her before.
No one.
And what's worse, Jasmine didn't even have an answer for him.
"I don't know," she replied earnestly. "I don't feel like myself right now so it's hard. But…I don't want you to think I don't appreciate it. I just have to get used to this I guess."
Noctis didn't know how to respond. It wasn't exactly an answer, but it was an explanation…sort of. But she wanted to try and that was good enough for him.
"Did you want to lay down?" He asked, feeling the tension between the two of them dissipate.
Thinking about her nightmare, the last thing Jasmine wanted to do was go back to bed.
"I think I just wanna watch tv," she leaned back slightly once she noticed the scent of alcohol on his breath. "How long did you stay out with the boys?"
"Just an hour," he admitted. "I got bored. Plus, I didn't feel right with you here by yourself."
Jasmine's face began to heat up.
She had to admit, it was a long time since she was in a situation like this.
Probably not since her time when she was dating Riku.
While it was still against her initial instincts and previous agreement to keep her relationship with Noctis platonic, they were technically in the early dating stages.
"Do you…" Jasmine still grappled with her earlier thoughts but went ahead anyway. "Do you want to sit with me for a bit?"
Noctis was taken aback by the request but immediately took this as a step in the right direction.
It was a small step.
A tiny step, but it was something.
Jasmine hopped off the stool with ease but yelped in pain when her feet touched the cool floor. Though she didn't get glass shards in the bottom of her feet, the tops of them were still cut up a bit and she almost stumbled over. She would've fallen flat on her face had it not been for Noctis catching her by her shoulders and steadying her.
"You okay?" Noctis asked, the concern etched in his face.
Jasmine's immediate thought was to put some distance between herself and Noctis. While they'd been in each other's personal space on many occasions, it was different now that there was an actual chance for romance to blossom. But knowing how she'd offended him recently with her standoffish behavior.
"I'll be okay," she reassured him. "I just need to sit down, that's all."
Seemingly content with the answer, Noctis led Jasmine to the living room and made sure she was comfortable on the couch. He handed her the remote control and took off his jacket before taking a spot next to her.
"I'm afraid to ask," Noctis began, "but did Ignis say anything to you earlier?"
Jasmine was a bit surprised that Noctis wanted to bring this up. They were supposed to be focusing on having a relaxing evening together, not focusing on anything other than each other. But then again, given the bizarre nature of – well, everything, it made sense for Noctis to have questions about what went on when Ignis and Jasmine were alone.
"He did," she admitted, turning on the tv and scrolling through the channels. "But it was nothing bad. We just got to clear the air about a few things. Honestly? I think it was good that we got the chance to talk."
Noctis was genuinely surprised by Jasmine's response. While he had questioned Ignis earlier once the advisor rejoined the group, Ignis hadn't given him much information. In fact, the only thing that Ignis said about the encounter was that "it went well".
"What did you talk about?" Noctis asked carefully.
Jasmine continued to focus her attention on the screen. "Mostly you," she revealed. "He has his reservations about me, but his main concern is that I don't do anything to hurt you."
Noctis shifted back and folded his arms over his chest.
He hadn't expected that answer.
"Also, we need to talk about something," Jasmine began, settling on an old black and white movie.
The prince tensed up. "Okay, what do we need to talk about?"
"There needs to be other Queen's Candidates beside me," Jasmine stated, her boldness shocking the prince.
"What are you saying?" Noctis asked, sounding offended.
Jasmine turned to the left to face Noctis, hoping that this wouldn't be an uphill battle. "I know what's coming," she revealed. "But I'm not comfortable being the only one – if I said yes."
Noctis felt his irritation rising. This was NOT how he wanted to have this conversation.
"Noctis," Jasmine tried to be careful as she chose her words, recalling the earlier talk she'd had with Ignis. "I'm not trying to hurt you but we have to be realistic here. If I said yes, and something happened to me – "
The prince frowned. "Nothing would happen to you," he stressed. "Why don't you trust me when I say that I'm going to take care of you?"
Jasmine gripped the remote. He definitely wasn't taking this conversation well.
"It's not a slight against you," Jasmine told Noctis. "But, if nothing else, we have to be careful. If I accept, there has to be another person who could be a candidate with me. And you can't protect me 24/7. You know it's the smart thing to do."
Noctis thought long and hard about what Jasmine was proposing.
And though he didn't like it, he knew she had a point.
Jasmine was just being logical, something he was having a hard time doing at the moment.
"That's part of what I talked about with Ignis," Jasmine said honestly. "He thinks it's a good idea too."
"It is," Noctis said through gritted teeth. Not wanting to deal with that subject any further, he switched the topic. "What else did you tell him? He seemed to be in a pretty good mood when he came back."
Jasmine leaned back and focused her gaze on the tv screen.
"We just had a heart to heart," she replied. "Neither one of us wants to fight with each other anymore. It's always been touch-and-go with Ignis, but I think we'll be fine."
"Is that all?" Noctis asked curiously.
Jasmine sighed. This was the part she wanted to talk about at another time. But, in light of recent events, Jasmine thought better of it and figured that now would be the only good time to say what she needed to say.
"I didn't want you to go without me being honest: I don't want you to go because I'm worried you or the others will get hurt," she began slowly. "But," Jasmine recalled the memory of her parents and their untimely passing, trying her best to suppress the old emotions that attached themselves to their deaths. "I know you have to get your father back. If I had the chance to go back and save my parents, I wouldn't hesitate."
Noctis was speechless.
This was the first time since the funeral that Jasmine had even mentioned her mother and father.
Ever since their deaths, Jasmine had been tight-lipped about the entire affair.
And while Noctis had often wondered about how she was doing in regard to that, he never wanted to open that can of worms and upset her.
"I thought you hated your parents for what they tried to make you do," Noctis said.
"I did," Jasmine answered truthfully. "If it weren't for them, I would have never met Vanitas. But now we'll never have the option to fix our relationship. And they didn't deserve to die like that. No one does. But…" She looked over and stared right into Noctis' eyes. "You have a good relationship with your father, and I know he's out there waiting for you. So even though I'm scared of possibly losing you, I just want you to go and find him and bring him back to safety."
"I-I," Noctis was at a loss for words, "I didn't know that's how you felt."
"I've been thinking about it since the day they died," Jasmine revealed, her tone becoming more somber. "And for the record I didn't always have problems with my parents. It was just in the last four years that things were bad. I don't want you to wait around here when he's out there on his own. You already lost your mom. I don't want you to end up like me. Long story short: I'm very worried about you and the boys, especially since I lost Ventus and Terra, but I want you to be safe and do your best to get home."
There was so much going on with what Jasmine said that Noctis didn't know where to start.
He had no idea that she secretly didn't want him to go, or that she was THIS worried about him and the team.
He also had no idea that she was carrying the pain of her parents like this for so long.
And, while he'd had an inkling, he had no idea that she was also hurting this much over the disappearances of Ventus and Terra.
Jasmine picked up on Noctis' inner turmoil.
"Too much?" She asked, studying his expression carefully.
Noctis sighed.
Jasmine was carrying so much with her on a day-to-day basis and she did it without letting others see it.
And even with the new trauma, she's still doing better than most people ever could.
"No," Noctis half-lied. "But it all makes sense now." Noctis grabbed the remote and lowered the volume on the tv. "Thank you…"
Jasmine lifted an eyebrow. "For what?"
"For telling me all that," Noctis replied, still feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of things Jasmine had revealed to him.
Taking a moment to register exactly what had happened between her and Noctis, Jasmine gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm not trying to make this about me," she admitted. "I just figured since you were trying, that I would try to. And I figured that being honest would be the way to go instead of keeping it in. After all, if I could get through to Ignis of all people, then I should try and be better with you. I told him I'd be good to you, so I figured that I might as well start now and be more open, especially since I see you're trying too. I just want you to be careful and for you to understand where I'm coming from, that's all."
Noctis' face turned a light shade of pink despite his best efforts.
He didn't know if it was the alcohol messing with his head or what.
But once again, Noctis was feeling a string of emotions he'd never experienced before and they were overwhelming him at every turn.
Noctis turned his head and smiled.
At least they weren't bad feelings.
Jasmine, while still fatigued, picked up on Noctis' shift. "You're welcome," she replied simply.
As soon as she finished speaking, a heavy silence filled the room.
In an effort to not add to the weirdness between them, Jasmine turned her attention back to the tv screen. However, Noctis' gaze shifted back over to his partner and he felt his heart begin to race upon recalling Jasmine's promise to Ignis that she'd "be good" to him.
'Maybe,' Noctis stole one final look at Jasmine before turning up the volume on the tv again, 'maybe there's a chance for us after all.'
Stella made sure that the door behind her was sealed tightly. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to face Vanitas, who was sitting at the desk in his office on Hollow Bastion typing away at something.
"That was risky," she whispered harshly. "How could you give Jasmine the antidote?"
Vanitas, who was already irritated more than usual, frowned and ceased the typing on the computer.
"Why are you bringing this up?" He asked sharply. "Obviously, I did it so she wouldn't die out there. If she would've left like I warned her, I wouldn't have needed to do so. You know she's hard-headed."
The blonde woman closed her eyes and tried to calm down. There had been a lot that happened on SHINRA's end since the Traverse Town incident and at first, things were calm. But now that the initial "test" of the drug had been completed, there were other things that needed to be ironed out.
"What if Vexen and the others find out that one of the vials is missing?" she asked Vanitas urgently.
The raven-haired man simply shrugged. "I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than you need to. While Vexen is neurotic about keeping track of things, I don't think he'll care too much about one missing vial. I can easily say I gave it to one of our own. Besides, Vexen wouldn't try and pick a fight with me."
Even though it had been a long time since Jasmine had stayed at the mansion on Hollow Bastion, her influence was still heavy on Vanitas. The girl clearly wanted nothing to do with him and he was going out of his way to help her. And while Stella was aware of Vanitas' lingering feelings (romantic and guilt) for Jasmine, with an existing target on his back (which they still hadn't resolved), it seemed reckless at this point to do anything that could potentially draw negative attention to him.
Stella grabbed a seat next to Vanitas and crossed one leg over the other.
"How much longer are you going to try and protect her?" Stella asked, her voice in a hushed whisper. "No matter your feelings, she's still in SOLDIER. Kadaj had a job to do – which was bring back Jasmine and the others. Now, she's gotten away AND she has the antidote in her system. If we did manage to get her – "
Vanitas' eyes became cold and steely. He pushed the keyboard back and swiveled in his chair so that he was facing Stella head on.
"We have Ventus and Terra. I'm more than sure that'll be enough for now," he hissed.
Stella frowned. Vanitas' lingering feelings were impairing his judgement and eventually, it would prove to be a grave mistake.
"You know it won't be enough," she argued. "Master Xehanort wants Jasmine too. And you know he doesn't let up when he wants something."
Vanitas initially opened his mouth to protest but, as usual, Stella was right. He took a deep breath and quelled his anger, albeit only slightly.
"I know," Vanitas said to his assistant. He thought back on the many times he approached Jasmine during her time with SOLDIER. "I tried to get her to join, that way, she wouldn't be in this position."
Stella took note of the pain in Vanitas' eyes. While he was always the picture of cool, calm, and collected, it was obvious that this conflict with Jasmine was wearing him down. She knew better than anyone the complexity of Vanitas' relationship with the young Valentine and understood just how badly he wanted her to be safe.
However, with the two of them sitting on the opposing sides from one another, it was only a matter of time before they would have to come to blows again.
"She knows better," Stella began slowly. "She saw what SHINRA did to Traverse Town. She'd never join after seeing that."
Vanitas noticed the disdain in Stella's voice and pursed his lips. "You're part of this too, Stella. Don't pretend to be outraged by what happened. While you weren't with the team who planned and helped execute the operation, you sit on this side of the table with me, Xigbar, Master Xehanort and the others. You knew what you signed up for."
Stella's expression darkened and she spoke freely. "I made it clear that I don't agree with what Xigbar and the others did – hence, why I sat out on the operation. Innocent lives were lost that day – even those of children. I know I work for you, Vanitas, but it doesn't mean that I agree with everyone on how they operate."
Out of seemingly nowhere, Vanitas broke out into a fit of laugher, catching the blonde woman off guard.
"Is that the princess in you speaking up?" Vanitas said through haggard breaths. "Keep in mind, you knew EXACTLY who SHINRA was when you signed your contract. And if we go down, you'll be sitting in a cell too – or dead."
Stella's jaw dropped.
She knew she wanted to protest.
She knew she wanted to argue with Vanitas.
But deep down she knew that he was right.
Though she was a princess, she became a mercenary when the Lucian war broke out and she sought refuge with SHINRA and Vanitas. She knew these people had little to no regard for the lives of others and yet she still agreed to work with them. Like it or not, even though she didn't have anything to do with the tragedy on Traverse Town, her being linked to SHINRA at all put her on the wrong side.
"Although," Vanitas' laugher ceased altogether, and his tone softened immensely. "I've made it clear that I'm not a fan of killing children. That's where I draw the line. But this is who we are. I work for Master Xehanort and I'm next in line to lead SHINRA. I'm not a fan of that crazy bastard's convoluted plan for domination or whatever the hell he wants to do, but we've made our bed and we're going to follow the plan no matter what. If you don't like it, you can gladly leave. But as soon as you do you'll be taken into custody, tried and convicted like the rest of us would be."
Once again, Stella knew that Vanitas was right.
She knew what she signed up for. Even though she was just Vanitas' assistant and bodyguard, she understood what organization she served. So, one way or another, she would have to make peace with this or turn herself in.
Stella switched back to the earlier subject.
"Jasmine won't go peacefully," she started carefully. "What will you do if it came down to it and you had to kill her?"
Vanitas froze on the spot and averted his gaze away from Stella.
He knew this from the start.
The second Jasmine joined SOLDIER, he knew the day would come when the two of them might come to blows.
His childhood friend.
The last real link he had to his parents before his life with Master Xehanort.
The one person he cared about most in this world (despite all the trauma and pain he'd put her through)…
"I still don't know," he answered honestly. "That's not something I want to think about right now."
Stella took note of Vanitas' somber tone and, at that moment, figured out the answer to her own question.
Deciding to not keep pushing the "Jasmine" conversation, she switched topics again.
"Vexen is going to start working on Ventus and Terra soon," she revealed. "They've been sedated since they were brought over to Hollow Bastion and tomorrow he starts the trials on them. Vexen wants you to be there."
Vanitas scoffed, immediately shifting back to his normal self.
"I almost forgot about my brother for a second," he mused. "I don't know why that crackpot wants me there."
"He said that Terra sustained more injuries than Ventus did so he's been easier to contain. But Ventus has been very resistant to the drugs he's been given and keeps waking up."
Vanitas' mischievous smile grew larger upon hearing the news of his old "friend". "That's Ven for you. He was always more rambunctious than the other two." He turned his attention back to his computer screen. "Tell Vexen that I'll be at his lab first thing in the morning. I think it's time me and my brother finally had a chat."
Author's Note: Happy Sunday everyone! I wanted to try and get this chapter up (obviously) way sooner than the last and even show some characters we haven't seen in a while. As usual I wanted to thank those who read, (newcomers and those who've been here a while), review and even PM me. I'm really grateful to you all!
hopefuldreamer1991: Things are definitely going to shift soon, on both sides, but I don't want to give anything away just yet! This group has a special place in my heart. At some point soon I'll update Bridge: The Prince just so that people can have more time seeing the early days of the FF Versus 13 group (because that's what I mainly based it off of) integrated into the Kingdom Hearts world.
Let me know what you guys think, stay safe, and see you at the new chapter!