Final Fantasy XV - Kingdom Hearts

Part 33

Summary: Two warriors of Light, the Chosen King and Keyblade Master, face an unseen Darkness.

'Come on, couldn't you add a little more herb?', whined Prompto, watching the princess stirring the soup in the large pot. With a roll of her eyes, Kairi merely pointed the large spoon at the older boy. 'Nuh-uh mister, Ignis trusted me to not screw up this simple meal and I intend to follow his instructions to the letter!', argued Kairi, turning quickly back to the soup.

After the arrangements of party heading for the final royal arm, Kairi was left one of Ignis' recipe books to make some soup for everyone. Considering she was by far the least likely candidate to burn the entire camp down; she was entrusted to make something for the party. At first, she would have suggested Gladiolus, but the man hadn't left Aqua's side since they woke up, so she took the role as food provider for the group.

As far as she was concerned, she wasn't going to risk overpowering the flavor of the soup despite the insistence of Prompto. The blonde had been trying to encourage the girl to add more herbs and spices to the bland looking golden cooked soup, and while Kairi herself admitted it didn't look the most appetizing meal she had made, there was no chance she was going to take the word of a blonde who burnt an oatmeal over a master chef.

'Ugh! Its gonna be so bland!', the gunner groaned, slouching in his seat.

'Oh, come on, there's no chance of that! I'm following Ignis' instructions and he always makes delicious meals!', Kairi argued back. 'Besides, I added at least four scoops of garlic and basil, any more and we may as well eat basil itself'. Prompto dramatically groaned but mercifully his whining ceased as he just went through his camera, leaving the princess to happily resume her watch on breakfast/lunch.

Donald and Goofy had took it upon themselves to clean out Aqua's car since they hadn't gotten around to clean it since they first acquired it. Plus Kairi was sure the paper wraps of food and snacks they had during the long travels probably have grown into piles of it by that point.

And Kairi had a feeling most of those piles were hers.

Within the tent, Aqua had still yet to regain her strength despite waking up an hour earlier. Donald checked her using his magic, he assured them that the woman was merely suffering from what he referred to as depletion of mana. In short and simple terms for non-magic users, she used a great amount of magic to cast such a high-level spell that normally would have killed the user. But in Aqua's case, being one of the most powerful, likely second to Xehanort, all it did was drain her magic entirely.

After a few more minutes and one quick test taste, Kairi nodded in approval and started to scoop some for the master and shield. 'Prompto, call Donald and Goofy for me, I'm just giving the first helping to Gladio and Aqua', Kairi said, pouring soup into the ceramic white bowl. The gunner responded with mirth as Kairi approached the tent and carefully entered it.

Inside she sees her master still in the bedroll, sleeping soundly while Gladiolus was sitting next to her, book in hand. He looked up to the princess, hand outstretched with one bowl of soup for him. Nodding with gratitude, he took his and Aqua's, placing it at distance from the woman. 'How is she?', Kairi whispered, looking at the peaceful woman. 'She's been out since Donald's check-up, didn't have much energy to stay awake so I told her to go back to sleep', Gladiolus explained.

'That's fine', Kairi assured, 'I'm sure after that spell she'll need all the rest she's gonna get'. Gladiolus nodded in agreement as he placed his book down and started to eat his soup as Kairi left the tent to ensure Prompto didn't sneak herbs into her soup. Outside she spots the three remaining friends of hers eating around the doused campfire, though Donald gave Kairi a small glare. '…sooo…how bad was the car?', she asked sheepishly, approaching her pot.

'Six piles of candy wrappers, courtesy of her highness' sweet tooth!', Donald chastised, 'How the heck did you keep your teeth so clean and white!?'.

'Brushing them after every meal~', she replied with cheek. 'And the supposed weight gain? I think we all know how I keep fit'.

'Maybe everybody should go on quest like this', Goofy said with a chuckle, 'Does wonders for weight loss!'.

Pouring her bowl of soup after checking the amount for the others, Kairi joined them all and engaged in friendly banter. 'Hope Noct and the others are ok', Kairi said as she scooped up her soup. 'Iggy said this tomb wasn't in a dungeon or anything like that, so it probably was smooth sailing', Prompto said with a grin, 'Sides with Riku and Sora, they'll be fine!'.

Kairi nodded, her worries put to rest as the blonde went on about the trip itself to Altissia. 'What's Altissia like?', Goofy asked, looking at the blonde. 'Well its mostly on the water, so that's why everyone calls it the city of water', explained Prompto, 'But it's got probably the best food in Eos!'. 'Impossible, Ignis isn't from Altissia is he?', Kairi argued. Prompto gave her a thoughtful look as suddenly everyone was starting to question it.

'Gee…that's a good question…', Goofy mused as Donald crossed his arms in thought. 'We could just compare the food…', Donald thoughtfully hummed. '…a cook-off between Altissia's best chef vs Ignis…the ultimate cook-off', Kairi said with a grin.

Just as they were all contemplating the idea, they turned to see the Regalia parking near the Haven. The four stood up as the other four exited the car, looking rested and relived the final arm had been claimed. They joined the others at the Haven, Kairi immediately hugging Sora upon arrival. 'Welcome back', she greeted, pecking him on the cheek. The hero smiled back warmly at her as she guided him to chairs.

'How did it go?', Donald asked, looking at the prince. 'Done and done, no harm, no monsters, just me and the arm', Noctis said with a yawn. He showed the others the Shield of the Just, earning strong approval from Goofy as Ignis poured everyone else soup. The spectacled man was rather pleased by Kairi's meal upon a taste test, least now he had someone else to cook should need arise. And more importantly, she didn't cave to Prompto's encouragement of additional herbs or spices.

Once breakfast/lunch was finished, Ignis had been on the phone to Cid and received word that the yacht was nearly completed, but it'd be another two days before they'd finally set sail for the city of water. Which means the group had some time to kill before arriving. 'So, what's the agenda for today?', Noctis asked, looking at the others for inputs. 'Well, we could go on a hunt or two for funds?', Kairi offered.

'Not necessarily Kairi', Ignis replied, sipping his coffee, 'With all the materials we've acquired, we should be finically secured once we sell them'. 'Yeah, I think we could fill a truck with all the stuff we found', Riku joked. There were some chuckles amongst the group. 'So, we don't need to go hunting, or exploring daemon infested dungeons, so we've got nothing to do', Noctis said as he finished his meal. 'We could always take it easy and just chill?', Kairi suggested, 'I mean, we haven't taken a break since we reunited with Gladio and Aqua'.

There was a collective hum of agreement amongst the team as everyone glanced at each, each sporting contemplative looks. 'Well, I dunno about you guys but the princess has a point. We've been going at it all for a while now, and when we get to Altissia, likely we'll be up to our necks with the empire, heartless, daemons and whatever the hell else there's gonna be', Noctis stated. 'I'm all up for doing nothing'.

'Or we could go to the Chocobo ranch!', Prompto suggested with glee. 'Chocobo ranch?', the three islanders asked, to which Ignis and Noctis shared a look of "here we go again". 'Yeah! It's Chocobo heaven! Plenty of them to ride and explore, plus there's probably another race going on!'. At the mention of the race, Sora and Riku's eyes sparkled with competition. 'A race huh?', Riku said, immediately eyeing Sora.

'Is that a challenge, Riku?', Sora taunted. 'For you maybe, me? It's just a casual jog', bragged the boy. Kairi only rolled her eyes at this, the old rivalry she had hoped had quelled since their first-time leaving home had unfortunately returned with a vengeance. 'Sounds like we've made our decision unless anyone objects?', Ignis offered. He got on complaints from Noctis, Donald, and Goofy, though Kairi didn't exactly show any delight in going to a ranch if means she'd had to watch her boys compete.

'Plus, there's probably baby Chocobo chicks too~', Prompto said.

'…I'm in!', Kairi said with glee.

*Chocobo Post*

Arriving at the ranch within the hour, the team had parked their respective cars and Donald and Goofy allowed their chocobos to run off to play with their brethren. Gladiolus had driven Aqua's car despite her waking up but she was in the less than ideal condition to drive the Wayfinder II.

There were plenty of chocobos as they would have guessed, many of the golden feathery creatures trotting and chirping at the visitors, some more at the party. Likely because of Prompto being a regular visitor. Walking around the ranch, most of the group had already split up to their own thing with Aqua example deciding to finally be lazy and just take it easy by resting at the caravan with Gladiolus. He was very behind in his book reading and wanted to catch up.

'So many chocobos…', Kairi mused, looking at them all. 'Is this the only ranch for chocobos?'. 'Indeed', Ignis confirmed as they walked in. 'Recent influx of tenacious wildlife have sent the birds fleeing left and right, nearly exterminating them. Luckily Wiz, the owner, had created this ranch to protect them'.

'That was good of him', Riku complimented, 'Can't imagine these feather heads lasting long against something like a pack of sabertusks'.

Reaching the stables, the party split off to do their own thing, Noctis agreeing to race Riku and Sora while Donald and Goofy decided to look around the place and maybe grab a bite to eat. Ignis had caught up to the owner, Wiz himself, to chat about the latest news while Prompto took Kairi to the chocobos.

While the smell was slightly unpleasant, the girl was enraptured by the large feathered beings. Since they weren't here for riding immediately, she finally had the chance to appreciate them. One of them leaned its head to her, chirping. She gently scratched its mane, amazing by how soft the feathers felt. Kairi giggled when in nudged its head into her, apparently approving of her scratches. 'So feathery~', she giggled, 'Who's a good bird?'. The Chocobo chirped happily.

'I think he likes you', Prompto teased, smiling at the interaction. 'He's certainly a friendly birdie', Kairi giggled. Once she was finished cooing the bird, she followed Prompto to meet the other birds, though she was never told their names as she met them all. During the walk however near the railing, Kairi heard a little chirp near her. Blinking she turned to see three tiny Chocobo chicks following her on the railing, chirping at her.

Stopping to look at them as they stood before her on said railing, one of the little chicks chirped and attempted to fly in the air by fluttering madly. It fluttered so much it lifted itself off the railing and tried to fly to Kairi, but the poor thing's wings simply were not meant to lift, and the little bird was starting to show exhaustion. Quickly the princess cupped her hands and caught the little thing.

The little chick chirped at her as its brothers/sisters chirped. Kairi giggled at them as she placed the poor but brave little bird back with its siblings. The birds chirped, the two hopped onto her hand when she was close and started to flutter around her, one even managed to land onto her shoulders. Kairi giggled profusely with its little feet tickling her shoulders, and to make her day more interesting, the third bird fluttered up to the top of her head. The birds were a little older than the first one since they fluttered higher and longer.

The bird on her head chirped and rested on her, Kairi giggled when it tickled her. A flash of light nearly spooked her and when she looked to the source, it was Prompto taking pictures of the literal bird lady. 'Looks like you're making friends left and right!', he laughed, snapping a few more pics of Kairi and her friends. Kairi laughed at the boy as the birds started to chirp around her excitedly. 'They're so small and cute~', she cooed.

Reluctantly she plucked them off her and placed them back to the railing as their mama Chocobo came up to Kairi. The Chocobo must have seen them playing with the visitors and upon the princess placing them on the railing. 'Go back to your mama kiddies', Kairi said as they all fluttered up to the bird's mane. The mama chirped before trotting off to join her brethren. 'Just as well she came back for them', Kairi said, watching them.

'Why? Worried they may have left a mess?', Prompto chuckled, elbowing her side. '…yeah, that', Kairi said with a shudder, 'But…if she hadn't…I probably would have taken one home'. Prompto laughed in merriment, patting her back as they watched the birds.

*Race Tracks*

'How are you two winning!?', demanded Noctis, getting off his ride as the two islanders patted their respective birds. 'Simple, we're just awesome', Riku bragged. Sora laughed as he placed both hands behind his head with a grin.

Noctis had many regrets, but none of them compared to agreeing to race these two. To say it was agonizing to constantly come third every time was saying adding salt to an open wound was a minor tickle. No matter what he and his Chocobo did Sora and Riku would seemingly outpace, outwit and outrun the prince. Bad enough that they restricted themselves to use only the bird and their wits, but the fact it was as if their chocobos were themselves in Chocobo form, the prince's only saving grace was his friends didn't see this.

As far as the racing wins were, Sora and Riku were tied with three wins each while Noctis had…no wins. 'Best three out of five?', challenged Riku, eyeing Sora. 'You're on!', Sora said confidently. Noctis rolled his eyes and decided to save what little bit of pride he had left, he decided to retire from this seemingly impossible race and just watch this time.

Leaning on the railing as the two keyblade rivals rode their birds off, the prince took this time to finally take in the peace of the woods as the sun beamed down on them without a cloud in the sky. Inhaling the clear air through his nose and pushing any negative thoughts of what is to come he started to think of just how far they had come since they met Sora and company. Stronger than ever, probably even more than his father was, having his world expanded and horizons grew, it was an experience for sure.

Soon he'll be in Altissia with them, then possibly face the goddess of the sea along with whatever the hell Ardyn and Xigbar will throw at them along with the empire. The thought chilled him, they'd be in a complete warzone, and Lunafreya would be caught in the crossfire. Looking at his hand, thoughts going back to the Master again, and the experience he had to endure from it. His talks with Kairi helped shed some light on the event yet there were plenty of answers obscured by the shadows of his questions.

Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts aside, turning back to Sora and Riku, today was a day for relaxation, not worried about the bad guys or monster to deal with. 'Hey, Noct'.

The prince jumped slightly and when he turned around, he sees Iris casually walking up to him. With a friendly wave and grin, the prince returned her smiles with his own. 'Heya, how'd you get here?', he asked as she joined him. She gestured behind her there was an old bike nearby the Regalia and Wayfinder II, well cared for if a bit old fashioned. 'One of the guards loaned me it after I showed them my license and assurances that I'd be visiting you guys', the girl assured.

'You drive?', Noctis asked, surprised. 'Yup, Jared taught me a little when we were waiting on you guys', she explained. 'And before you ask, I texted Gladio where you guys where and he gave me directions to here'.

Figures, the prince thought.

Noctis watched the race quickly ending, seeing Riku in the lead as Sora was an inch behind him. Then subtly he glanced back at Iris when Riku was in view, noticing a familiar glimmer within her amber-colored eyes. That glimmer that he used to receive from her, those adorable eyes that showed a one-sided love. Now he noticed that whenever she looks at him it was more friendly and causal than it was loving and affectionate, kinda like Kairi shows Sora.

As the two islanders finished their race, Riku just barely passing the line by what Noctis assumed was a nano-second, the sounds of a victorious yell followed by a loud groan of defeat. 'Yes! Suck it Sora!', Riku gloated as he threw his fist into the air. Sora grumbled as he petted his feathery stead, praising him for doing his best none the less. Least he's a humble loser.

They both got off their birds and then fist-bumped before they turned to Iris and Noctis. 'Iris? Heya! When'd you get here?', Sora said with a great big smile. Riku, however, straightened up at the girl, suddenly clearing his throat as Sora walked over to her and Noctis. This caught Noctis' attention, blinking as he glanced between his two friends. 'Just a few minutes ago, heard you were in the area so I came to say hi', she explained, smiling friendly to Sora. Then she glanced at Riku and to the future king's surprise, he saw that old look again.

"She's…oh no…oooooohhh no…", Noctis thought to himself, putting two and two together when Riku shyly smiled back with a wave. 'Hey Iris, good to see you', he greeted, it sounded like he was trying to be casual but even Noctis heard the shot nerves in his voice. 'Same here', Iris replied with a smile. 'You two racing?'.

'We were, but Riku won the last one, so I'm buying the ice cream', Sora sighed, 'Made a bet before we started the fourth race'. Iris rolled her eyes at them playfully, before she smirked. 'A race? Wanna go around with me?', she asked, looking at Riku. Riku raised a brow at her before Sora grinned excitedly. 'You ride chocobos too?', Sora inquired. 'Yup! And I'm a good racer too!', she boasted. Riku looked at Noctis, who grinned in response. 'Go for it, a race for the title!', he said encouragingly.

When all eyes fell to the silver-haired master, he raised his hands in defeat. 'Alright then, let's race', he conceded.

Sora hopped over the railings to grab the cold treats, yelling at them to wait before racing. As Riku readied his Chocobo at the starting point, Iris prodded his shoulder, earning his attention. She held her hands behind her back with a sneaky grin. 'You and Sora made a bet before the race, right?', she asked. He nodded in response, somewhat worried about that grin. 'How's about we make one too?', she asked, 'You win, I'll let you ride my bike'.

Riku looked at the machine and could already imagine himself using it, sides it looked awesome and given how he used one back in that computer world before he was curious to see what one with wheels on an actual road would be like. 'Ok…I'm game', he said, turning back to her, 'But if I lose?'. 'You, have to take me out on a date!', Iris declared. Riku blinked before he mustered all his will to push back the blood attempting to rise to his cheeks.

'I…uh, er…y-yeah! Sure! Deal!', he said quickly, shaking her hand. 'Great!', Iris said, hopping onto her bird. Quietly gulping to himself, Riku climbed back onto his bird as Sora returned, handing Noctis his own before sitting on the railing. 'On your marks!', Sora announced.

'GET SET!'.

'GO!'.

And off they went, birds trotting quickly as Riku instantly took the lead, Iris trailing behind slightly with her bird. Eyes set on the finishing line, Riku didn't even care about winning the bike anymore as he and the bird made a tight turn and leaped over one of the obstacles in their way.

"Gotta win! Gotta win!", he repeated several times in his mind as he and his bird kept themselves at a good distance from Iris.

It wasn't as if he isn't interested in the girl, rather he had become fond of her and enjoyed their activities together. She brought out that inner teen in him that he was certain much of had passed since he left the islands, unlike Sora who retained so much of his youthful optimism and cheer. Maybe it was because for once he wasn't on some task to complete but taking the time to explore the world with her was thrilling.

And that was why he couldn't afford to lose.

As he rounded another corner, he was bypassed by a golden blur that seemed to have rocketed past him. Even startling his bird. Riku looked to see Iris trotting ahead of him with greater speeds as she and her Chocobo raced ahead of him. Grunting in annoyance, he and his bird charged forth, catching up to the girl almost instantly. Both chocobos were neck to neck in the race as they passed the finish line together, one lap down.

Sora and Noctis both cheering for them, the former standing on the railings and waving madly at them as their race grew more intense and energetic.

The second lap ended when Riku dashed forth with a burst of speed from his noble stead, five feet from Iris. He patted his bird with approval and praised it for the burst of second wind, leaping over more obstacles and jumped through a hoop too.

With the sun slowly setting as the race drew close to an end, Riku and his bird were just a few meters away from passing that line, he could feel the adrenaline of victory rush through his veins as his bird trotted quicker to the line. 'Come on bud, we're almost there!', he encouraged as his bird leaps over another obstacle.

But this victory was not to be Riku's.

The master sees the world slowly passing him by instead of the high speed his Chocobo displayed earlier, and he didn't feel the wind rushing through him as much as he did before. Looking at his bird, the poor thing was starting to lose its speed and energy, likely from all the running they put it through today. Realizing his bird was practically running on fumes at this point and any further pushing would very likely put it out, Riku swallowed this defeat and ushered his ride to slow down.

This proved to be his undoing for the moment his bird slowed down to a light trot, Iris blazed past him and crossed the win with a cheer. Throwing her arms up in the air with cries of victory as her ride jumped in place spinning around. Sora and Noctis cheered for them, more so for Iris' victory over the supposed master of birds. If Riku wasn't preoccupied with his bird and how he just promised taking this girl on a date, he would've retorted to them.

'Good race guys! Didn't know you could race like that Iris!', Sora praised as he handed her long-awaited treat. 'Learned a few tricks here and there', she explained, 'But hey, they paid off!'. As Riku joined them, he notices the girl was smiling at him excitedly before they all headed back to the ranch, giving the young man time to think about his predicament.

And figure out why he was so happy to have lost…

*Caravan*

Laying on her back with a small grunt, Aqua glanced at Gladiolus still reading at the end of the bed, nose deep into the dark green book. Since she arrived here, she had been mostly napping throughout the day, resting in this surprisingly comfortable bed as the day passed them by in peace. With her metal armor removed and neatly placed by the kitchen section of the caravan, she was able to sleep more comfortably.

Aqua couldn't remember the last time she had just taken a day to do absolutely nothing and enjoy the lazy peace that came with it. Most days she'd be doing something, whether it be training, helping the others, or ensuring something or other went well. Yet when she arrived at the ranch, she was still feeling the aftereffects of the spell and felt like she could have done a "Noctis" and stayed sleeping the car all day without a care in the world.

Genuinely she felt so much better and rested after her long nap, yet she didn't even feel like getting up yet. She knew it was late in the afternoon, slowly shifting to evening yet she was happy to just lay down and laze about for today. Plus having Gladiolus in here with her was comforting and allowed her to breath easy, knowing he was here in case she was off, or something happened. Still, though she occasionally would peek at his book and ponder what it was that kept him invested.

There was nothing on the cover detailing what he was reading at all, it was just green with some symbols on it, not even the author's name was on those books. Looking at his books made her consider picking a few up in Altissia or maybe Lestallum if they would return there, she missed reading her old books back at home.

Her curiosity started to get the better of her as she sat up and crawled to Gladiolus. 'What are you reading?', she asked, peering over his shoulder to get a better look at the text. Gladiolus merely smirked at her with an eye roll. 'A book, what's it looking like?', he teased. Slapping him playfully on the back of his head with a giggle, she leaned onto him resting her chin on his shoulder. 'Well I figured as much, I mean what's the content of the book?', she rephrased.

'Just some history about Insomnia and a bit on the land, that's all. Boring stuff', he said, turning a page. Aqua frowned in doubt, there was something about that sentence that didn't sit with her. Gladiolus could be anything but boring, and the history of their hometown was certainly more akin to Ignis' preferences. While she appreciated the history of a place of interest, even she couldn't exactly call herself a lover of historical novels.

'Then tell me something about', she offered, trying to get a better look at the words. Yet Gladiolus would shrug her off and turn himself slightly the hide the book from her. 'You wouldn't be interested, its all pretty wordy and a little…ya know, dull', he lamely said, though it sounded like an excuse to the woman. 'Try me, I happen to like history', she said, on her knees now trying to peek at the book. Again, he refused to show her, which only deepened her curiosity to see the mysterious book.

She pouted when her…boyfriend, was pushing her away from reading it. Then, a surge of childishness swam in her heart as she recalled the numerous times and ideas Ven had used before the gain hers and Terra's attention when he wanted to.

To be a brat~.

Aqua hopped up and reached over the shield to pluck the book from his hands, saying: 'YOINK!', and quickly sprinted across the caravan. 'Now then! Let's see what historic secrets you're hiding from me?', she said with childish glee. Gladiolus scrambled to his feet and chased her, the woman ducking and evading his grabs as she reads out the words of the page, giggling.

'"B-But Vaan, our love is forbidden! You know this never be accepted", princess Ashe says, her heart crying out in pain', Aqua described, ducking underneath Gladiolus' arms as she read out: '"I don't care what the council says! I love you Ashe, and I will always be yours!", Vaan decrees with utter confidence and passion, swelling up within his chest!'.

'Aqua!', Gladiolus growled, his cheeks sporting a dusty hue of red as the blue-haired woman giggled profusely at the story. '"Oh my Vaan, please, take me to our chambers, so that we may consolidate our bond," Ashe says, her fears washed away like a wave of assurance washed over', Aqua snickered. '"I shall Ashe, and together on this night, our bond shall be made!" Vaan promises, taking her hand and letting himself be guided to her chambers!'.

Before she could get to the smutty part of this tale, in her invested reading Aqua was scooped into Gladiolus' arms, laughing happily and squealing in delight. He huffed and threw her on to the bed like she was a child acting like a brat. Aqua attempted to scamper away to continue reading out more of those cheesy lines but Gladiolus pinned her there, grabbing her wrists and placing them both above her head and snatched the book from her.

The woman was still laughing profusely even as he tossed the book on the counter near them, laughing until tears formed in her eyes. 'HAHAHA! H-History! Oh, my goodness!', she laughed, shaking her head in utter delight. Gladiolus growled and glared at her, which only caused her to laugh even more. His supposed threatening glare was made more hilarious thanks to his blush like he was caught doing something embarrassing. 'You brat of a woman…', he grunted, his voice tainted by embarrassment.

Aqua's laughter slowly dwindled to giggles, looking up at her boyfriend with smiles as he kept glaring at her. There is silence among them, the childish fun ceasing as she started to realize she was in a rather compromised position. He towered over her, her arms were held by his stronger hand and she had her legs between his knees. Staring at him as her shyness started to combat the wild energy she had earlier, Aqua was surprised when he released his grip on her wrists and placed his hands near her head to support himself.

Smiling softly as a surge of courage raced through her chest, Aqua placed her hands on his cheeks. Feeling the scratchiness of his stubble and softness of his cheeks, she pulled him down to kiss him. Both closing their eyes as they started to kiss, gently embracing the other. Electricity went down her spine as she tasted her boyfriend, shifting to allow him to wrap her into his arms. Security and warmth radiated from his grasp.

Aqua let out a small moan of approval when Gladiolus started to kiss her jaw, trailing down to her neck and gently suck it. She blushed but arched her head back to allow him more access to her flesh, arms wrapped around him to pull him closer to her. She felt his strong hand run through her hair, making her nearly purr with approval of that gesture, it was loving and gentle at once. When he stopped sucking her neck, he raised himself to look at her flushed face. 'Liking the service?', he teased.

'Absolutely', she giggled, placing a hand on his cheek, 'Having my boyfriend doing this to me, it's wonderful'. Gladiolus chuckled as he rolled onto his back, letting her lay on top of her and relax with him, resting her head on his chest. 'Hmm…I could get used to this…', Gladiolus hummed, stroking her arm soothingly. 'You and me both', Aqua sighed in peace. As their moment of peace washed over them, Aqua nuzzled into his chest as he wrapped an arm around her waist, both content to just stay here all day in peace.

*Knock* *Knock*

'Aqua? Gladio? Are you two awake?'.

The two sat up upon hearing Kairi's voice through the door. 'Nap time's over', Gladiolus grunted. 'Darn, and I starting to doze off', Aqua giggled, hopping off the bed. 'Yes Kairi, we're awake, just a second!'.

After throwing on his leather coat and the master putting her armor back on, they answered the door to see Kairi. 'Everything ok?', Aqua asked. 'Oh yeah, we're just heading off there', Kairi explained, gesturing the others behind her. 'We're going to the Galdin Quay for dinner'. Gladiolus smirked with approval and said: 'Sweet, haven't had anything there in months now'. 'I assume it's a restaurant?', Aqua asked as they left the caravan with Kairi jogging on ahead.

'If Ignis ever opened up a restaurant, the Galdin Quay would be the place', Gladiolus said with a wide grin, 'And trust me, that's a compliment we don't give out to any restaurant!'. Aqua smiled back coyly as they walked. 'Well now you've set my expectations high, I'm looking forward to having my taste buds experiencing mana from the heavens!', she said.

Gladiolus laughed in reply as they looked to the vehicles, surprised to see Iris there chatting up with Riku again. Before the shield could open his mouth and call her, the girl then pecked Riku on his cheek before skipping to her bike, leaving dazed Riku in her leave. Gladiolus blinked in disbelief as Aqua just stared at the display. Riku shook his head and quickly entered the Regalia as Donald and Goofy took the chocobos.

'What…just happened?', Aqua asked, looking at Gladiolus, 'Do Riku and Iris have something between them?'. Gladiolus didn't answer but his frown strongly implied he didn't know either. '…I'll talk to him tomorrow', Gladiolus promised, heading for Wayfinder II as Kairi and Sora hopped in. Aqua smiled softly though, as she got into the driver's seat.

Together the party of eleven sped off the to Galdin Quay as the day turned to night. Their last few days of peace…

A/N: So the chill chapter is here! Well, part one anyway.

So originally this was supposed to be a one-shot chapter but I figured after everything that's gonna happen in Altissia, you all deserve to see the team have a few moments of peace. Part two will be fun I promise!

Questions:

Q1: Did you enjoy the Chocobo ranch?

Q2: What pairing do you want to be focused on more in the next chapter?

Q3: Does anyone know who Vaan and Ashe are? If so, you've good taste in games!

Q4: Do you wanna see Aranea in the next chapter?

Q5: Wanna see Noctis and Sora face their greatest challenge that is the Anglers Nightmare?

So, this is a question a lot of people have asked this question, Sora's Final Form and Ultima Keyblade, why he doesn't have it or why not give it to him soon. The reason is simple, I don't want Sora to be the "Goku" of the group and let's be fair here, he kinda is. He's easily the strongest member of the group and giving him FF would just make all the fights predictable and less fun to write.

I do plan on Sora getting them later, but for now he's sticking with what he has…which too be fair a reviewer DID point out I'm kinda nerfing him so hopefully, in future chapters, I'll make up for it.

As always everyone, feel free to ask any questions if you have any! Thanks for reading, stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!