Jasmine dried her freshly cleaned skin with a warm face towel and sighed as she tossed it aside in the hamper in her bathroom. She tilted her chin up, taking note that most of the bruises she got from the attack were almost gone now. It was almost as if nothing happened.
Her chest tightened as she replayed the memory in her head.
'Almost,' she mused grimly.
A gentle knock on the bathroom door startled Jasmine out of her thoughts. "Who is it?"
"It's me, sweetie," Tifa called out with a hint of urgency.
Jasmine ran to the door and opened it to see her godmother standing there with a strange expression on her face.
"What's going on?" Jasmine asked curiously.
Just then, the sound of two male voices rang through the air.
"I don't think you should be here. What if someone followed you?"
Jasmine looked to Tifa, who had a rueful expression on her face.
"Is that Zack?" Jasmine asked, faintly recalling that he was supposed to be watching over her today. Before she could say anything else, Tifa told Jasmine to hush, urging her to listen.
"It's just Prompto and me. I promise, no one followed us. He's in the car now acting as a lookout."
Jasmine's face turned a light shade of red when she recognized Noctis' voice. "What is he doing here?" Jasmine hissed, clearly panicked.
Tifa gave Jasmine an all-knowing stare. "You know why he's here."
Jasmine stepped back into her room and grabbed an oversized hoodie that reached the middle of her thighs. "Who told him I was here?"
Tifa stepped inside and watched Jasmine rush to put herself together. "Ignis found out from Tseng. You know they've been worried about you. I'm honestly surprised he didn't come sooner."
Once Jasmine felt that she was semi-presentable and tied her hair back, she looked to Tifa for guidance.
"I know you weren't ready before, but you need to talk to him. Preferably before Zack tries to throw him out and we have a situation on our hands."
Sighing, Jasmine rushed out of the bathroom and ran to the second-floor railing, where she did in fact see Zack and Noctis standing at the entrance. The two men stood face to face with tension clear in the air. And while Zack, her self-proclaimed uncle, barred the prince from taking another step inside the house, she could see that Noctis was persistent.
Jasmine gripped the banister and tried to steady her nerves.
"Zack, it's okay," she called out, causing the two to cease their arguing immediately. "I don't think he'd let himself be followed."
The black-haired, mako-eyed SOLDIER sighed heavily. Initially holding an arm out to block the prince, he dropped it and stepped aside. But before Noctis could walk past him and make his way to Jasmine, Zack gently grabbed the prince's shoulder.
"Just make it quick, okay? We don't need any more problems," Zack warned cautiously.
Noctis nodded, taking no offense to Zack's warning, and rushed up the stairs to Jasmine.
Before she could speak, Noctis wrapped his arms around Jasmine and squeezed her tight before placing a hand at the top of her head.
Tifa gave Zack a look and the two of them slowly walked away from the scene, deciding to give the pair some privacy.
"We'll be in the kitchen," Tifa announced as she gently pushed Zack along, who was watching the prince like a hawk.
Jasmine, whose voice was muffled from her head being buried in Noctis' broad chest, turned, and managed a "thank you" before the two vanished. Once she was certain the two had their privacy, she turned back up to the prince and was quickly taken aback by the apologetic look in his eyes. But, upon realizing that Noctis' steady grip on her remained, she finally returned the hug.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I should've been here."
Jasmine loosened her grip on Noctis, already knowing where he was going with this.
"Stop," she insisted. "We know whose fault this is, so don't start."
Noctis looked down and locked eyes with Jasmine. Though she physically looked better than the last time he'd seen her over a month ago, Jasmine seemed a bit more…weathered than before. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy; she felt smaller in his arms as if she'd lost a bit of weight, and her voice lacked the strength behind it. But he knew why. She'd been through hell ever since Twilight Town and it seemed as though she couldn't catch a break anywhere.
Conceding, Noctis agreed to let it go. "For what it's worth…" he said shyly as if he just remembered that he was holding her, "I'm…really glad to see you."
To his surprise, he saw Jasmine's cheeks flushed with color. She quickly turned her head and released Noctis, who followed suit. Jasmine shoved her hands in her hoodie pockets and avoided eye contact. "I'm glad to see you too…I think we should talk though."
Noctis' stomach dropped when Jasmine ushered him towards her room, and he braced himself for the worst. Once the two were inside, she shut the door behind him. She offered him her desk chair while she sat on her bed.
"I…" she started and then took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't really want to talk about what happened with Ven and Terra. I know you guys already know and I'd rather not rehash it."
Noctis nodded in understanding. After all, who would want to talk about something so traumatic? She'd just been betrayed by her friends – one of whom she was physically involved with for quite some time.
When Jasmine brushed her hair behind her ear, Noctis caught sight of the bracelet he'd given her when he was away.
"You're wearing it," he noted, trying not to come off too excited.
"Yeah," Jasmine pulled her hand back and stared at the bracelet. "Every day," she admitted.
Touched by the admission, Noctis shyly turned away from Jasmine. Even though he thought things were better than before, he knew it would be foolish to think that the hard part was behind them. He was still very aware of what was going on and that Jasmine might not want to be involved with him in that way. Especially after the Ventus/Terra incident.
"Jasmine," the prince began quietly. "I know a lot has happened since I've been gone so I wanted to ask: did you still want to go out with me?"
Jasmine gave Noctis a bewildered look. "Why do you ask that?"
"Well…I didn't want to force you to do anything if you weren't feeling it."
Jasmine remained silent, unsure of what to say.
"I won't put pressure on you," Noctis continued. "Especially after what happened."
Jasmine stood up, uneasy about the whole thing. But this time, it was different. It wasn't just her who was hurting – it was Noctis too.
She walked over to him and crouched down. Jasmine took a deep breath and rested her fists on his knees. Noctis looked up, surprised by the act, and studied her face carefully.
"Noctis…" she began softly. "I know the Ven, and Terra thing happened but it doesn't matter."
Noctis' chest tightened. He couldn't read her. And he didn't know if she would give him good or bad news. "So…what do you want to do?"
Jasmine paused, thinking carefully before she spoke. Once she gathered her thoughts, she met his gaze. "Nothing changes but…can we take it slow? I don't have the best luck with this kind of thing."
Noctis chuckled, surprising Jasmine.
"What's so funny?" She asked cautiously.
The prince gave Jasmine a rueful smile. "Sorry. I was…just thinking we're in the same boat."
Jasmine's stomach dropped when she remembered the story Prompto told her about Noctis' ex-fiancé Luna. She died years ago when Noctis' country was under attack. Here she was, thinking only about herself when Noctis also lost someone dear to him. In fact, Noctis had dealt with loss well beyond anything she'd ever experienced. And yet he handled everything with grace. It was almost as if nothing happened at all.
He went about his days, standing tall despite everything he'd faced.
And here she was, moping about what happened with Ven and Terra.
At least he was still alive. But Luna?
She was gone forever.
'Maybe,' Jasmine wondered, 'maybe I should be more like him.'
Deciding to silence her fears, she offered the prince a small smile. "I'm…I'm just glad you're back," she admitted.
Noctis bashfully returned the smile. However, before the moment could linger, he knew he had to bring up an important subject.
"So, are you going to be staying with Tifa for the time being?" he asked.
Jasmine shrugged her shoulders. "That's what Tseng said. But he also mentioned possibly moving Axel and me away from here for a bit."
Noctis' heart sank. He'd JUST got back to Radiant Garden and now they'd have to be separated again. "I understand why. Did he tell you where?"
Jasmine rose to her feet and sat back down on her bed. "No. He's still figuring it out. They couldn't find Terra or Ven and he thinks they probably went back to SHINRA's base. But they're gonna come back for us. We just don't know when."
"Is it just going to be you and Axel?"
She sighed heavily and shifted her gaze to the floor. "I don't know. He also thinks that it could be a good idea to go back to Radiant Garden and stay on base. He's working out the specifics, but I don't know what's happens next."
Just then, an idea came to Noctis' mind.
"If you come back to Radiant Garden, we could protect you," Noctis proposed. "Prompto and the others won't mind."
Jasmine's head snapped up, and she immediately shook her head.
"I can't ask you guys to do that," she insisted. "The guys have their own assignments outside of our team."
Noctis rolled his eyes. She was impossible like always. "They already agreed to it if Tseng says it's okay," he revealed, surprising Jasmine. "Besides, they care about you. None of them would let anything happen to you."
Knowing it was useless to argue with him, Jasmine agreed to let the others guard her. In truth, she wasn't completely sold on the idea as she didn't think it was a good idea to head back to Radiant Garden so soon. Plus, she had Tifa and the others watching her here. But she knew Noctis just wanted to help so this time, she'd let him.
When Jasmine agreed to let the others protect her and didn't put up much of a fight, Noctis sighed with relief.
"Prompto wants to see you," he informed her, his smile lingering. "Can he come up, or is that not okay?"
"It's fine," she replied softly. "I'm not sure how long you guys can stay, though." Jasmine glanced out the window, spotting the high-end luxury car.
"We'll be quick. Promise," he said before getting up and swiftly leaving.
Once Noctis was gone, Jasmine exhaled a deep, heavy sigh. Despite how closed off she'd been, she really was happy to see Noctis. And knowing that the others had made it back safely after their trip took some of the stress off her.
A ding from Jasmine's cell phone startled her. She reached over, pulled it from under the covers, and unlocked the screen. Axel had left her a voice message on her personal phone. She hadn't spoken to him today, but they had been in touch since the incident. Still, she knew a meetup was in order.
With Noctis out of the room, Jasmine decided to listen to the voicemail. It was just a short fifteen-second message. 'He probably just wants to talk about our plan to leave the island,' she reasoned.
However, when the message played, Jasmine's heart skipped a beat.
"Listen, kiddo, we need to talk. I learned something about a certain ex of yours that you need to hear. Call me when you can. It's important."
'Vanitas,' she thought, immediately understanding whom Axel was referring to. 'Why can't I ever get away from him?'