"Well...This is just fantastic."

"Rosie...Shut up.."

"Back at ya Noct."

A car honked as it passed by the party's now stranded car. Noctis was sitting on the ground, Gladio stood near the car trying to get someone to pull over to possibly help them. Ignis was in his usual spot behind the wheel, sighing in frustration. Prompto was laying on the ground on the other side of the car, while Rosalie was laying on top of the trunk of the car. They were all tired and sweaty seeing as they were in the desert and had pushed the car a good couple of miles before deciding to take a break.

Gladio made a sound of frustration as he failed to get another car to pull over. "I think we can forget about hitching our way there... thought people were friendly outside the city..."

"You can only go so far on the kindness of strangers," Ignis replied to Gladio as he leaned forward to press his forehead against the steering wheel.

"Just gonna have to push her all the way."

"I've already pushed myself... to the brink of death," Prompto said as he dramatically flopped his arms out onto the ground.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with the nearly dead Prompto," Rosie said as she put her hands over her face to shield it from the scorching sun.

"Oh, get up," Gladio said as he hit Noctis on the back of the head and then kicked Prompto in the leg with his foot. "C'mon, car isn't gonna move itself, that means you too princess." He said mockingly as he started nudging her off of the trunk.

"Gladio, have I ever told you how much I love you?" She said sweetly as she slid to the ground.

"Only when you want to get out of something. Now come on."

"I hate you Gladdy..."

"Love you too Rosie."

Ignis stayed put in the driver's seat to keep the car on the road while Noct too the left side and Prompto the right. That left the back with Gladio and Rosie.

"I thought the car was supposed to move us," Prompto groaned.

"Wouldn't that be nice-" Noctis started but was cut off by Gladio.

"Can it. Ready... Steady... Push!"

As they started pushing the car all four groaned from the weight of the car.

"Ugh, why is this thing so heavy..." Prompto grumbled under his breath.

It was quiet for a few moments before it was Rosalie's turn to complain.

"This is stupid."

"You're stupid." Noct fired back in breathy voice. Rosie opened her mouth to reply but Gladio cut her off.

"Your both stupid. Now, shut up and push the damn car!" He growled in frustration which was enough to scare Noct and Rosie. Another moment of silence passed.

Noct: Un. Believable

Gladio: Not exactly a fairytale beginning, huh, Prince Noctis?

Ignis: We let ourselves get carried away.

Prompto: Look, these things happen!

Gladio: Let's just hope this isn't some omen."

Noct: Gladio, do me a favor

Gladio: What?

Noct: Push this thing by yourself.

Gladio: All by myself?

Rosie: Heh. That sounds like a good idea Noct.

Prompto: Yeah. You won't even notice if we just let go...

Gladio: Prompto, Rosie, don't even think about it!

Ignis: Save some breath for pushing.

Rosie: Shut up Iggy!

Noct: Ignis, C'mon- time to switch!

Gladio: Nuh-uh! We just switched back there!

Prompto: And, it's my turn Noct.

Ignis: His 'turn'.

Prompto: Ugh, my hands are killing me

Gladio: You rather I kill you with mine?

Prompto: Easy there tough guy.

Rosie: *Starts laughing*

Gladio: Something funny, princess?

Rosie: Nope, nothing at all...

Noct: Any luck?

Ignis: Only a busy signal.

Prompto: Hold the phone- is it just me, or was it supposed to be way closer?

Ignis: I assure you the map is correct.

Noct: The map said Hammerhead was right there.

Prompto: Literally next door.

Gladio: Looks that way on the map of the world.

Noct: The world's a big old place."

Ignis: Filled with wonders

Prompto: Tell that to my legs.

Rosie: I gotta agree.

Gladio: Are you guys even pushing?

Prompto: Hard as I can...

Noct: Everything I got.

Rosie: *Let's out a breathy laugh* I think.. my arms are noodles.

Finally, they got to the Hammerhead outpost. All of them excluding Ignis were exhausted, except Gladio wasn't making a big deal out of it. Noctis was on the ground dying, just wanting to sleep for a week. Prompto was on the other side of the car nursing his sore limbs. Rosalie was a little bit away from everyone else on her hands and knees coughing trying to catch her breath. Igni was with her rubbing her back gently as he handed her his water bottle.

"Why didn't you say something sooner," Ignis said concerned for her well being. She eased herself into a sitting position as she took the water Ignis offered her. After she drank some of the water she started to feel a little bit better.

"I just didn't want to be a burden on everyone. I also didn't want to be treated like glass, I want to be treated as an equal." Rosie glanced into Ignis' eyes once before looking down at the water bottle in her hands.

"Rosalie..." Ignis gently said her name as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "We will always treat you as an equal. That being said we aren't just here to protect and guide Noctis, we are also here to protect you and help you become stronger."

Rosalie threw her arms around Ignis neck and hugged him tightly. His words greatly touched her heart. "Thanks, Iggy." She whispered softly in his ear, causing him to blush lightly. The hug lasted a moment before Ignis pulled away and gave her a small smile.

"Now, stand up and I will make sure your okay."

She nodded as she stood up and took another drink of water. Ignis moved to stand behind her putting his ear up to the middle of her back he instructed her to take a few deep breaths. Once he was done he stood up straight and pushed up his glasses and sighed.

"When you breathe you are still going to be wheezing for awhile, but if you take it relatively easy for a few days your breathing will return to normal."

"Thanks, Iggy."

"No problem."

Both of them made their way back to the others. Gladio looked her over and raised an eyebrow.

"What was that all about?"

Rosalie just shook her head. "I will tell you later." She said quietly, Gladio nodded in response.

Rosalie walked over to Prompto and leaned against the Regalia.

"You doing okay?"

Prompto jumped a bit. "Oh, yeah I'm doing alright. How are you doing? You weren't looking good when we got here." He asked as he looked up at her, concern and worry evident in his eyes.

"I'm doing better now, nothing to worry about. If anything I'm exhausted."

Before they could continue their conversation they heard a pair of footsteps walking towards them. Prompto immediately got to his feet at the sight of the newcomer. The newcomer was a young woman, she wore white cowboy styled boots with black stockings that come up to her mid thighs. She wore short jean shorts with a tool belt hanging from her waist, with a bright yellow cropped Hammerhead jacket that was zipped up a few inches revealing her orange bikini top. She had a pair of goggles hanging around her neck and a Hammerhead red cap on top of her short curly blond hair.

"Hey there, Y'all kept a girl waitin!" She said as her olive green eyes started looking around at their group. "Now which one's the prince?" That was Noctis' cue to stand up to face her.

"Aha!" She yelled as she quickly made her way to stand in front of him. "Hello, Your Highness. Congrats on your wedding!"

Noctis became a little flustered as he quickly replied to that statement. "Not hitched just yet."

She just ignored his comment. "Lady Lunafreya's groom-to-be, here in Hammerhead."

Ignis decided to speak up before Noctis could say something else. "Apologies for taking so long."

She started laughing a bit. "You'd best save your apologies for Paw-paw." She said as she started giving the car a once-over.

"Well, that makes you..." Gladio said while speaking his thoughts.

"Cindy- Cid's grease-monkey granddaughter."

A rough sounding voice could be heard from behind Cindy. "Roll 'er in while I'm still young!" We all turned to look at Cid, the man who owns Hammerhead.

"Didn't yer daddy tell ya? She's a custom classic, not some beat up ol' clunker." Cid said while looking at the car as he made his way over to Noctis. He moved his eyes from the Regalia to Noctis. "Prince Noctis."

"Uh, yeah," Noctis replied.

"'Prince' like they took your old man and kicked the dignity out of him," Cid said as he brushed past Noctis and continued to look at the car.

"What?"

"You got a long way to go, son. And that slack jaw's gettin' you nowhere fast." Cid stated as he finished up inspecting the Regalia. Shaking his head, Cid started to make his way back to the garage. "She's gonna take a while. Y'all get her in and run along."

Cindy looked at her grandfather and sighed. "Y'all heard him! Let's get movin'. Right this way," Cindy said as she instructed them to where they needed to roll the car.

Ignis tried to get Rosalie to steer, while he helped push but she brushed him off and told him to act like nothing was wrong. Once the car was in the garage Ignis made his way over to them after talking with Cid.

"And now we play the waiting game."

"Never like that game," Prompto said as he walked away along with Rosie and Ignis.

"Never any good at it, either." Noct threw back at him.

Rosie was about to go sit in the shade and rest when Prompto placed a hand on her shoulder, which caused her to turn around. Prompto had a goofy grin on his face.

"Do you wanna come with me to the store to see what they have?"

"Sure!"

Once she replied Prompto grabbed her hand to drag her into the store. After they got into the store Rosalie placed a hand on her chest as she tried to catch her breath, each breath in was an obvious wheeze.

"Hey, you doing okay?"

She coughed a little bit before nodding. "Never better, just a little thirsty," She said with a convincing smile. Prompto seemed hesitant to accept her lie but eventually ended up giving her a warm smile as he bashfully rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

"That's good, I'm glad you're doing okay."

Rosalie had a pang of guilt hit her. She didn't want to lie to him, she just didn't need him to worry about her.

"Whoa! They got Ebony out here! Ignis is gonna flip!" Prompto's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He then just noticed that he was still holding her hand. Quickly he let go of her hand and took a step away from her in surprise.

"I'm sorry!" He said quickly as his face turned bright red.

"Oh, it's okay Prompto... I didn't mind," she admitted softly as a light blush spread across her cheeks.

They stood there lost in their thoughts for a few minutes before Prompto decided to continue to look around.

"Wait... Uh, what's a 'gil'?" Prompto questioned while turning to look at Rosie who shrugged in response.

"I think it's the currency out here."

Gladio soon came up behind them without them realizing it. "C'mon lovebirds we are gonna get some grub." Both of them quickly turned around in surprise.

"We uh-" "It's not what you think!" Rosie and Prompto said rather quickly. Which caused Gladio to raise an eyebrow and smirk.

"Right. Whatever you two say." Gladio said not believing them for a moment.

Gladio then led the way to the diner with Prompto and Rosie following close behind. Once they got into the diner Noctis and Ignis greeted them.

"Where were you two?" Noctis questioned as he leaned against the counter.

Gladio decided to answer for them. "They were gettin' cozy in the store."

"No, we weren't!" Prompto protested while Ignis frowned at them.

Noctis got a mischievous look in his eyes. "Oh, were they now?" Noctis questioned Gladio.

"Yea, saw them holding hands and everything," Gladio said with a proud smile as he clasped Prompto's shoulder.

Prompto let out a huge groan as he covered his blushing face with his hands. Then he continued to try and get them to stop, which was a fruitless endeavor. Rosie sighed in defeat as she decided to sit on the other side of Ignis, away from the two biggest kids alive. Gladio is the biggest one at times when he isn't being serious.

"Are you okay?" Ignis asked as he watched her rest her head on the counter.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Boys will be boys." She said with a smile as she glanced over at Prompto who was stuck between Noctis and Gladio, who were still teasing him.

Prompto met her gaze and she sent him an apologetic smile which he returned. Rosie switched her gaze back to Ignis' green eyes. "Do we just want to order something while they continue to be idiots?"

Ignis smiled as he saw her eyes light up like they used to when they were younger. "I don't see why not," he replied.

They ordered all of them 'Chili con Carne'. It only took a few minutes for the man behind the counter to serve them all their food. Which Rosie decided to pay for since Rex had found his way into her wallet and left some money.

"I will pay you back once we have the proper funds," Ignis said quite embarrassed since they didn't have the proper money.

"It's alright Iggy."

Once they were finished eating they asked the tipper about any useful places in the area. Ignis decided to inform Noct about their low funds.

"A moment, Noct? We've expended the last of our funds on the repairs. I suggest we confer with Cindy."

"Broken down and flat broke," Prompto said with a sigh.

"Adding insult to injury," Ignis said to Prompto.

"Old man's in for both after charging us that much," Gladio said in a huff which prompted Rosie to scold him.

"Be nice." But she went ignored as Noctis walked out and headed towards the garage.

"Yeah. Let's pay him a visit."