Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed the previous chapters. And thanks to those that put this fic in their favorites and are following it. Thanks for your support in 2020 and hopefully that support will continue throughout 2021.

I also have a new fic that coincides with this one Fabula Crystallis. The idea is to bring the two stories together to make the sequel for both fics, like two realities coming together. The other story is a bit more serious, but will have its humorous moments.

With that out of the way, here's the first chapter for 2021. What will happen when the babies finally turn one-years-old?

2022 Update: Well, since we're almost done with the rewrite of this fic, I can confirm that the sequel will be out soon. It'll directly connect to this fic, but will also be an alternate reality of FFXV and the events that happened in it.

So, if you're still following this fic or reading it, please give it a read when it's posted.

-miano53

Chronicles 25: First Birthdays

"Uh, why does the washer sound like a rock band drummer?"

"I dunno. But I don't wanna break the rhythm. It's cool!"

"Seriously, Gladio. Did you put heavy metal t-shirts in there or something?"

"No. I dunno what's in there, Iggy. I didn't do the laundry."

"As long as he doesn't start singing/screaming rock songs, I'm good."

"Noct, don't give him any ideas."

"Too late! BLEUGH! YOU WILL BE JUDGED!"

"O-okay…"

April 18th, 769…

"WAAAH! WAAAAH!"

Noctis opened his eyes, groggy after having a strange dream of his being a kid again, but in a wheelchair and talking with a young Ignis and Gladio. They were standing in front of what Ignis called a "metalcore" washing machine as the cleaning device sounded like it had rocks in it. Gladio in the dream was amazed that a washing machine could sound like a drummer in a rock band, and he proceeded to sing/scream with it… as he did with the holiday metalcore interruptions that Noctis successfully quelled. Or so he hoped.

But the dream was interrupted by one of the babies crying. He got up, seeing that Lunafreya was out on her run and Roni was supposed to have the day off. It was about seven in the morning and he figured he had to get up. But he really didn't want to. Lucis could survive a day without him, right? Right?

"No, and I suggest you get up before Regina starts having an asthma attack."

The specter of Regis appeared beside the bed, folded arms, and a judgmental look on his face. Noctis groaned, ripping the grey and white covers off him, and begrudgingly headed for the nursery. Regis then asked him, "Do you remember what today is?"

"Uh…no," Noct replied.

"Seriously? And you called me heartless."

Ardyn appeared near a window as Noctis entered the babies' room. The sleepy king glowered and muttered, "Why are you here?"

"Well, today is a special day for them. I just thought to give them a gift."

"Whatever is it, I don't want it…" Noct muttered, finding Regina, whose face was red as she was crying awfully hard.

He picked her up and she began wheezing, trying to catch her breath. Remembering what Dr. Gainsborough told them to do for her, the man grabbed the machine that served as her inhaler. He placed the little oxygen mask over her mouth and nose and the baby started to calm down.

Looking up at her father with hazel eyes, she gave a grin and Noct asked, "You okay?"

A coo and another cry were heard. That crier was Ventus, who apparently had a bit of trouble turning over. He was being nosy and flipped himself onto his stomach in his crib. He then sat up, seeing Noctis and Regina, his cries being that of frustration.

The last to wake was Aurelius. Tired, he sat up, looked at Noct, Regina, and Ventus, and then cooed. He stood up in the crib, hopping up and down, and was joined by an excited Ven. Before he could say anything, Noctis heard Ardyn say, "Happy anniversary of the start of your existence!"

"It's 'birthday'. Just say 'happy birthday'," Regis said, annoyed.

Birthday? It was the triplets' birthday, Noct thought?

Eyes growing wide, the man realized he had forgotten about his children's birthday. Birthdays were a big deal in Lucis for the royals, especially first birthdays, and were usually followed by new merchandise in stores, parties around Insomnia and presents from delegates all over the world…well, not Niflheim as at the time as they weren't on good terms when Noct was growing up. If anything, their birthday gift to him was that Marilith that attacked when he was eight.

The doors to the nursery opened and Roni appeared. She had a party bag and said, "Happy birthday, Your High…Uh…Majesty?"

The man was still in his pajamas and Roni dismissed herself, saying, "I'll wait until you're decent…"

An hour later, Noctis' office…

"Today is April 18th and the forecast today is sunny with a high of 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Happy 1st birthday to Their Highness, the princes and princess of Lucis. We here at Lucis Television Network wish them and Their Majesties the best."

Noctis, after getting dressed into his usual black dress shirt and pants, looked over the many news reports and read articles from news entities wishing the royal kids a happy birthday. The re-established social media channels also gave their good wishes, with many wondering what the king was going to give them. Most posts made fun of the fact that Lindblum's citizens saw his disdain for vegetables and said that wasn't going to be a present for them.

He rolled his eyes and mentally declared that the person who had the audacity to give him or his children vegetables would be banished from the Crown City. Sure, it was drastic, but he would continue his disdain for the Infernian's work. Most were green, quite ugly, and tasted like edible depression and bad college decisions.

The doors to his office opened and Ignis came in. He reported that Secretary Claustra had sent in her gift to the kids, horns used for the Totomostro. Noctis sighed, seeing the box Ignis brought in, after the Glaives inspected it, and muttered, "Why?"

"Well, the Citadel will be noisier than usual," Ignis noted.

Noctis thought it was one of the worse gifts to give a one-year-old. But he had to take it back as Cor and the Glaives came in with more. The gift from Lindblum were toys in the shape of soldiers, airships, and chocobos. Noct inspected it and found choke hazards as the soldiers carried swords and shields in their hands.

The next batch was from Cleyra and Burmecia. The people gave dried foods, mostly fruit and nuts, and it was meticulously scanned by the Glaives. No poison or anything. But they were still choking hazards and Noct thought to eat it himself.

Midgar also gave their gifts, which was bands had miniature crystals called "Materia". Noctis hadn't a clue what they would use it for, but he would keep the items in storage. Tenebrae sent in sylleblossoms and chocobo plushies, courtesy of their uncle Ravus and something Noct knew the Big Three would love.

Gralea, under its new leadership with Empress Solaria Aldercapt, sent books about learning Nifl, one of them called "My First Words". Noct had decided that the kids would be multilingual, something that would be helpful with the nations still not used to standard Eosian. So, he asked for it to be placed in storage and the Glaives left with the presents that arrived so far.

Cor and Ignis stayed behind, with Ignis asking, "So, what are we to do for their birthday dinner? Her Majesty is already making rounds in the city for the children's birthday."

"Yes. Well, Roni's getting them ready and we'll meet with Luna at St. Cornelia's," Noctis told them.

Ignis nodded, telling him, "Well, Vyv told me that he'll have his people there for their 'naming ceremony' and Lucian TV will be in attendance."

"And the Glaives and the Crownsguard are posted at the church. Any interruptions in the ceremony will be dealt with swiftly," Cor informed Noct.

Noct didn't get why Cor would think that. It was just a naming ceremony, something that was simply done for the public as it was tradition not to release the names of royals until they reached the age of one. So, he doubted that politics or any chaos would get in the way.

"What's the deal with the lights? And the oversized clothes? And the wigs? And the glasses on Umbra? And the synthesizer?" an older Noctis said, arriving at an odd scene.

Two of the Big Three, Aurelius and Ventus, were with their friends in the Citadel's training room, with various musical instruments straight out of his father's younger years. One of them was their buddy Bartz Klauser and the others included classmates Zidane Tribal and Luneth Topapa.

"We're 'jamming', Dad!" Ventus grinned, wearing dark sunglasses, and dressed in bright, oversized clothes that made it look like rappers from that odd era.

"Uh, you're what now?" Noctis asked, still confused.

"We're jamming! Mom said that Grandpa and others in Eos liked this music back in the '40s," Aurelius said, about to play an electronic piano.

"A whole bunch of electronic music?" Noctis asked, not getting it.

"Yeah!" the five boys yelled.

Looking around as it looked like he stumbled onto a music video set, Noctis asked, "And you're going to play this in the Citadel why?"

"Because we're gonna show them at school that Grandpa's music was cool," Ven said, the blonde ready to play guitar.

Noctis sighed, muttering, "Please don't…"

"Too late! Aurel, rock on!" Ven yelled.

Shaking his head, Aurelius said, "We're not 'rocking', Ven. We're jamming!"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Zidane said, the odd, tailed Genome, said, readying a bass guitar.

"Sing it, Bartz!" Luneth, who was on the drums, said.

Bartz, who had the microphone, started dancing as the boys began playing. Nearby was a cellphone that was recording them. Noctis, not wanting to be a part of the embarrassing scene, stepped out of the way and watched the madness. The song was a bit iffy, the lyrics obviously changed to be more "age appropriate".

"Oh! Oh, Tina! Let me show my love for you, yeah!" Bartz sung.

He performed a little twirl, grabbed the mic stand dramatically, and kept singing, saying, "Oh, oh Tina! Let me bring candy and flowers for you girl!"

"Uh…I don't think those are the lyrics, Noct…" Prompto said, coming in and seeing the sight.

"And how would you know that, Prompto?" Noctis asked.

The blonde sheepishly grinned, telling him, "Uh…heh-heh. I sang this to Cindy and that's how I got her, man."

"I thought that she only had pity for ya, Uncle Prompto," an older, and dressed like a Gothic Lolita, Regina asked, embarrassed at her brothers and friends.

Prompto turned to see her and said, "Uh, hi there."

"Why are they being such dorks?" Regina asked.

"And here's 'Miss Sunshine'. See ya, Noct," Prompto said, leaving.

After a successful naming ceremony and the public finally getting their first appearance of the triplets, Roni went to her room, changed into nightwear, and went for the couch in her apartment-like quarters. She was tired and wanted to unwind. So, she had some popcorn she popped from the night before, and a cup of her favorite drink, rosé.

Turning on the news, she saw the weather report and the latest news. Apparently, there was a bit of unrest happening in the kingdom of Alexandria, with rebels revolting against Queen Brahne's policies. There was also a report on the reconstruction in Galahd and the elections in Midgar, with President Shinra winning by a landslide.

She took a sip of the drink and felt at peace. Roni thought of all the things that happened in less than a year. She became the babies' governess, got her own apartments within the Citadel, and even made enough money to get her own transportation. No more calling on Libertus or other Glaives who had their own cars.

For some reason, it felt…too peaceful. Almost as if she was missing something. Taking another sip, the brunette thought it was just her PTSD, being used to so much tragedy during the Long Night. But, she didn't remember much before then and there was a Glaive that was just like her. Unlike her, they recovered their memories and found out that they had to meet with the war god, Bahamut, to determine the fate of the Glaives.

Since they still existed and Eos found out Bahamut's true nature from Noctis and Lunafreya's actions, they were successful. But it didn't explain why Roni still didn't have her memories. The Glaive tried to find clues to help jog her memory from before the Long Night, but nothing worked. Almost as if the memories were best left forgotten.

"Maybe…Maybe I should ask His Majesty about it…He probably can find someone who can help…" Roni thought, taking a third and fourth sip.

The news went to the local stories from Insomnia. One of them was of kids at Eden High School and the interest in Cleigne quinceñeras, which was the name of a girl's 15th birthday party. It was more like a coming-of-age party, like the mitzvahs from Bhujerba and the Sweet 16s of Insomnia before the kingdom fell.

As the newsreel went on, with students talking about their interests in joining their liege in "breaking down the borders between nations and coming together as one people: Eosians", Roni felt a bit of a headache. She looked at her glass and saw specks of a white powder at the bottom. No one should've been able to get into her apartments in the Citadel. The place was suicide for intruders and none of the Glaives would try to hurt Roni, right?

She dropped the cup, feeling dizzy and the room started spinning. Roni got up from the couch, trying to get to the closet in her bedroom. She would be safe there until the drugs that were in her cup ran their course. Just as she got to her bedroom door, Roni collapsed, her vision incredibly fuzzy. But she could see someone in black standing in her room.

They knelt next to her and she saw a short dress and black, knee-high boots. Looking up, she could see the person, a young woman with short, black hair, a glowing hazel eye with the other eye covered by an eyepatch, with scarring around it, and black gloves that went up her forearms. She brushed back some of Roni's hair and her distorted voice said, "Good…Good…You're waking up. I needed you to get into the Citadel."

"Who…Who are you? And…what did you put in my drink?" Roni asked, trying to get up.

The youth grinned and said, "No one worth mentioning. I needed you to start asking questions, especially about what happened before. Just let your mind's wheels turn and…"

Roni clutched her head, unable to stand but able to move enough to keep her mind from splitting. The pain was growing too much and she wanted it to stop. But…she couldn't pass out. Not now, as an intruder was in her room and could potentially harm Noctis, Lunafreya, the babies…

"N-Noct…" Roni said, unable to open her eyes.

Her mind was filled with images, so many that she couldn't sort them out. The pain became blinding and Roni fell face-first onto the floor, blacking out. The last thing she heard was, "It's all coming back. Welcome back…Regina Lucis Caelum."

Whoa…So, Roni is…Wow. Wonder if anyone saw that coming.