Yay, longer chapter! Well, I merely merged two separate chapters into one, because they are kinda connected and it felt too forced to separate them :)
They drove back to Lestallum to stock on supplies before heading to Caem, where Cid would assist them with repairing an old boat which would take them to Altissia. Ignis had explained to Iris that all boats from Galdin Quay had been denied sailing.
However, they weren't prepared to face what was awaiting them.
The whole city looked mournful, many buildings showed signs of a terrible battle, and despite the numerous people walking the streets, everything was uncharacteristically silent for such a lively place.
"What happened here?" Prompto asked in shock.
They all rushed to Jared's place to check up on them, but no one was inside. The house had obviously been raided by someone, pieces of furniture scattered everywhere.
They shouted the old man's name as well as Talcott's but never received an answer.
"Are you lookin' for ol' Jared?"
Ferguson was standing outside the crushed door, an expression of deep sadness in his black eyes.
"What happened here?" Prompto asked again, and Iris's former employer sighed.
"The Empire attacked us. They got word that the prince was hiding here somewhere… I don't know how they knew Jared has helped you lot, but I guess the Imperials were quite familiar with the poor man by now…" Ferguson told the five, horrified people in the room.
"They marched straight in, without bothering to search any other place, which was good for the rest of us. Otherwise, this city would be nothing but a bunch of rocks by now. They took the old man by surprise. Poor devil couldn't even put up a fight, what with his age and the element of surprise they had".
Ferguson stopped to wipe one falling tear away from his eye.
"No…" Iris whispered, her eyes flowing with tears. All she could think about that moment was the kindness of the old man, from the moment he had risked his life by escorting her to Lestallum, to offering her a room in his house, and treating and loving her like a daughter. She simply couldn't believe he was gone. How many more people did she need to lose before this all ended?
Everyone remained silent, all grieving but understanding that Iris's sorrow was much worse than theirs having basically lived with the man and his grandson for so long.
"By the way" Ignis said, looking around "What happened to little Talcott?"
"Don't tell me…" Iris started, but Ferguson shook his head with a reassuring smile.
"He's fine. As fine as a little boy can be after what happened to his grandpa. Luckily he was not home when the Empire arrived. He was out to play with some other kids".
"What's gonna happen to him now?" Noctis asked, a hint of worry in his voice. The prince had apparently taken a liking in the boy.
"The hunters are heading to Caem to build a new base there, since there isn't a proper one yet. The kid insisted on joining them. Said he wants to become a hunter too, so he can avenge his old man when he grows up" Ferguson said sadly.
No one spoke anymore, and Ferguson simply bowed his head and left, understanding that they needed some time alone to process the new information.
"Iris…?" Prompto walked to her side and approached her carefully, as if afraid she would snap at him at any time.
She looked up to the gunslinger's sad expression, so unfamiliar on his usually happy face, and tried her best to smile.
"We need to go there" Noctis stated firmly "To Caem. Put an end to this".
"I agree" Ignis nodded "But it's getting late now. We're leaving tomorrow at dawn. We can stay at the hotel tonight. It's going to be a long trip to Caem".
They all left in silence and headed to the hotel. Iris could feel Prompto's eyes on the back of her neck, watching her warily.
Iris got a room for herself, being the only woman in the group. She suspected the boys didn't mind sharing a tent all together, but definitely not the privacy of a single bed with her. She didn't mind either for she needed some time on her own.
In the past few months, her heart had broken over and over again and she was beginning to lose it. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep the façade with the others, especially now that they were all part of the same team.
Someone knocked on her door, but she didn't bother to answer.
"Iris?"
The girl immediately recognized Prompto's voice, his usually cheerful tone completely gone.
"It's open, Prompto".
The gunslinger stepped into her room and stopped to stare at the fragile girl sitting on the bed, a heartbreaking expression on her sweet face.
Prompto looked at her sympathetically and cautiously approached her.
"Can I sit next to you?" he asked softly, and she nodded. She felt the weight of the bed shift slightly as the boy sat down beside her.
"It's probably a stupid question but… how are you feeling?" he asked.
"Definitely a stupid question, Prompto" Iris replied coolly. She immediately regretted it when she saw the flash of hurt crossing his face, but he forced a sad smile.
"Sorry" he muttered "I'm not very good at this".
"So why did you even bother to come see me in the first place?" she retorted bitterly. She didn't mean to be rude to him, she didn't mean to sound so cruel. But she was losing her grip, anger boiling inside her. All the people she had lost, all the hopes and dreams she had left behind, all the things she had had to give up on crossed through her mind, and she balled her hands into fists. Tears were now falling down her cheeks on their own accord, and she couldn't control them anymore. She sobbed softly, bowing her head and let the tears flow.
Prompto began to panic, for he had never seen a woman in such distress before and had no idea what to do to comfort her.
Counting solely on his instincts, he tentatively lifted his arms to pull her into an embrace, and she let him rocket her gently against his chest once he had gained enough confidence.
"I know" he whispered softly "I know. But we're here for you. I'm here for you. It's going to be fine".
She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent which sent her heart racing. She placed one fist against his chest, while resting the other on the bed. He started stroking her hair, unaware of the effect he was having on her, unaware of the deafening sound of her hammering heart. He kept rocketing her and whispering into her ear until her tears had dried up and she had calmed down.
"Better?" he asked softly, giving her the warmest smile she had ever seen on his face. She nodded, temporarily unable to speak.
They briefly locked eyes for a moment, in which Iris saw something flash behind his bright blue ones. She was not sure what it was, such was the speed of the whirlwind of emotions he must be feeling. He blinked a few times as if to clear his head and stood up, positioning himself in front of her. Then, he bowed down and pressed his lips on her forehead. A soft, gentle kiss. And yet, Iris could sense something more behind his sudden display of affection: hurt? Sorrow? Guilt?
She couldn't tell, but it was there in plain sight.
He stroked her cheek one last time before leaving her room without another word, the warmth of his lips still lingering on her skin.
Prompto was avoiding her, and this made her inwardly chuckle bitterly. She had promised herself that she should be the one avoiding the photographer after admitting her crush on him to herself, and yet here she was, being totally ignored by him.
She watched outside the car window but without really focusing on the scenery. Why was he avoiding her? The evening before he had been comforting her, even kissed her –though not in the way she had originally hoped- and still he had shown more affection that he had ever done before. She knew, by now, he really cared about her, but his feelings were obviously not as strong as hers.
But why was he avoiding her?
"And then they say women are complicated" she thought flatly.
Her eyes automatically fell on Noctis, for once sitting in the middle to give her a break from her large brother. She would be lying if she said she didn't have feelings for him anymore, but not as strong as before. He used to occupy every single thought, before sharing them with a certain blonde and, now, he was being pushed more and more to the back of her mind as her feelings for Prompto grew stronger.
The rational part of her kept telling her to give up on both before she ended up seriously hurt. It would still hurt to conceal and forget the feelings she had for the two young men sitting with her in the very same car, but it would still be better than picking up the shattered pieces of her already bleeding heart.
She doubted she would survive that.
She observed as the blond party member grabbed his camera and started taking shots of the scenery every time Ignis slowed down to turn left or right, choosing the appropriate filter and downloading the best pictures onto his phone.
Little did she know that, for the very first time in his life, Prompto was snapping pictures for the sole purpose of keeping his mind distracted, and not for the joy of it.
He had been mulling all night over what he had done the previous evening.
He had stubbornly ignored what his heart had been desperately trying to tell him for the past months, ignoring the feelings building up in his whole body every time he was around Iris. He had always liked her sweet and gentle personality, and would even admit having developed the faintest crush on her some years before, but his feelings had been growing stronger and stronger ever since their encounter with the Daemon. He remembered the way she had taken care of him, the time they had spent together in Lestallum, the way she made him feel even when he was having a terrible day.
And after last night, he got the confirmation that she had feelings for him too. She had started acting differently towards him, focusing much less on Noctis and seeking his presence and his touch instead. He might not have much experience with girls, but he knew when one was interested. He was a photographer and, therefore, observed. He observed the way his parents looked at each other, the way young couples in Insomnia seemed in desperate need of the other's touch, the way girls looked at Noct back in school.
But it was definitely the first time that a girl looked at him in that same way.
He didn't think he was ugly, quite the contrary actually. He had always been happy with his looks, especially after achieving his objective of becoming a fit young man, and a Crownsguard.
Truth be told, many girls had eyed him, trying to get his attention by swinging their hips seductively, and sometimes he would return the gaze but he never really mustered the courage to actually approach one. He was way too shy and insecure for that and, though appreciating their curves, he never really liked those types of girls, the ones that relied solely and exclusively on their apparel. He needed them to have other qualities too, like courage, kindness, intelligence… just like Iris.
He almost burst into laughter: she had made him become picky when it came to girls!
Of course, he liked Cindy but that was basically it. He simply liked her in a pure sexual way. Nothing really serious with her, despite letting his friends believe otherwise. He would always joke that women like Cindy would set his 20-year-old hormones on fire, but not his heart.
However, his dilemma remained. Despite the feelings he obviously had developed for Gladio's sister, he knew he couldn't have her. He could, of course, if he really wanted to, but he couldn't do this to her. It was bad enough to lie to his best friends. He would not break Iris's kind and loving heart and, for that, he needed to sacrifice his feelings. He would get over it, anyway. He always did.
She deserved better than him. She deserved a Lucian to win her heart and make her forever happy. He, Prompto, would never be able to do that for they would surely end up with a broken heart.
She, for discovering what he really was, and he for losing her forever.
He decided he would try avoiding any more contact with her. He couldn't afford to slip again like he had done the other day. He had let their relationship go too far already, with Iris developing a crush on him. She would suffer but he thought it would be better than tearing her precious heart apart.
And so, Prompto Argentum snapped yet another picture to try and forget the sorrowful expression on the face of the girl he cared about most in the world.
Of course Cindy was there. She had been waiting for them in Caem, where she led them to a very old house in the woods. Talcott was there with Cid, and welcomed them all with a huge smile.
Iris was happy to be reunited with the small boy again. She couldn't really say the same about Cindy, who confidently told them the boat wouldn't work unless they procured old Cid a mythril stone.
The five friends looked at each other with raised eyebrows: mythril was extremely rare to find, which meant they were stuck.
"I read in my grandpa's notebook that you can find a mythril in a cave not too far from Caem!" Talcott intervened when he saw their expressions "You should check it out".
They were discussing when to depart when Gladio approached Noctis and told him he wouldn't be joining. Iris listened to her brother explain he would be away for a while to take care of something, and that he would return within days.
"Do your thing" Noctis answered "Not like we could stop you anyway".
Gladio smirked at this and gave the prince a friendly poke on his arm, before bidding the rest goodbye and left.
Iris was just trying to understand what her brother was up to when she was abruptly brought back to reality by a scene which made her stomach twitch with jealousy: Prompto was standing inches from Cindy, one arm placed around her thin waste and the other holding the camera to snap a selfie of themselves. Iris was pretty sure she was fuming, so she decided to stomp away and entered the dusty house. It was barely big enough for all of them, and definitely needed some cleaning. But Talcott and the others had just moved in, so she knew the place would look much better once they were done.
She found Talcott playing with a model of a Cactuar on the kitchen table. The boy smiled at her and stood up.
"Do you want me to show you to your room?" he asked kindly. Iris smiled back and nodded, before following the boy upstairs to a tiny bedroom. There was only space for a single bed, a small wardrobe and a TV hung on the wall. A filthy window was barely illuminating the room.
"It's not much, I am afraid" the boy said sadly "But I promise I will help the hunters clean it up!"
Iris ruffled his hair with a motherly smile and, when the boy had returned downstairs, she landed on the bed and sighed heavily.
From outside the window, she could still hear Cindy and Prompto laughing…
Once again, she was running through a dark cave, trying to escape from the fierce Daemon chasing her. She was panting, her stamina failing her but she forced her legs to keep going. She hit the wall in front of her, realizing she had reached a dead end. She was trembling when she turned around to meet the gaze of death, but instead she found a pair of deep, blue eyes staring back at her.
"Noct?"
The dark-haired boy was barely visible and almost transparent. She wasn't surprised when another figure stepped out of the darkness, his form almost fully material in contrast with that of the prince…
Someone was knocking on the door. Iris slowly and lazily opened her eyes, her brain quickly registering her surroundings: she had fallen asleep listening to Prompto's jolly laughter. At the moment, she could tell it was still dark, though she couldn't be sure given the state of the window.
She stood up and sluggishly went to the door. In the narrow hallway stood Ignis. She could faintly smell food coming from downstairs.
"It's almost time" the spectacled man said kindly "I made some breakfast. You should eat before we go. It's going to be a long day".
He turned around and left to give her time to get ready. She ran to the bathroom across the hallway and opened the door without thinking.
She stopped abruptly when she found herself face to face with Prompto in the act of putting his shirt on. Startled by the sudden interruption, the boy stood shirtless to look at the intruder.
Iris felt like her face was on fire and apologized profusely. Her embarrassment made the gunslinger smile, and she noticed how there was no trace of a blush on his face. He looked perfectly comfortable teasing her with his bare, strong chest while his shirt hung from his right arm, as if defying her to order him to put it on.
"It's alright" he finally said, a smirk still lingering on his handsome face "I was done anyway. I should really remember to lock the door next time. Who knows who can burst in while I'm takin' a shower".
And, inwardly chuckling at the girl's shocked expression, he walked past her and went downstairs.
Prompto wasn't sure why he had acted that way. He would normally be quite embarrassed if anyone, especially a girl, walked in the bathroom while he was inside but, somehow, he didn't mind that much if it was Iris. He would probably have been if she had walked in when he wasn't done yet, of course, but he couldn't deny he had enjoyed watching her reaction. Brushing a lock of wet hair from his face, he tried to picture once again her expression: from her eyes automatically trailing down to his bare chest to her shocked expression when he had told her she could have risked seeing more than she had.
It was almost intoxicating to have such an effect on another human being. He had never experienced a girl being so dangerously attracted to him, and he liked the way this made him feel. Despite his looks, he had always been Noctis's shadow, his side-kick only and Iris had been no exception. Until everything changed that night at the Wiz Chocobo Post.
However, the rational part of his brain encouraged him to be more careful, and stop teasing the poor girl. He had already made his choice to keep his distance to safeguard her feelings, and him acting like that wouldn't help at all. Besides, he wasn't sure he wanted to be confronted by Gladio should he find out he had broken his precious sister's heart.
As usual, he therefore pushed his thoughts and feelings about Iris aside and focused instead of Ignis's pancakes.
"Noct still not up?" he asked as soon as he had entered the small kitchen.
"Lower your voice, will you Prompto? It's 5AM and the others are still sleeping" Ignis replied without turning to face him. He was apparently too busy flipping more pancakes.
"Sorry" Prompto almost whispered "Forgot about it".
"As for your question" the spectacled man continued as he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose "You should know better. It's impossible for Noct to wake up before 6".
Prompto chuckled lightly, and then silence fell upon them, save for the sound of water running coming from the bathroom upstairs. It was now Prompto's turn to slightly blush at the thought of Iris locked inside the shower…
"…Prompto?"
"Wh-what?"
The gunslinger blinked several times before realizing Ignis was facing him, a plate with pancakes placed in front of him.
"I asked if you would like syrup or jam" Ignis inquired, a hint of annoyance in his light-blue eyes.
"Ehm, syrup please" the blonde answered, wishing his skin wasn't that fair.
"Why have you become so red?" Ignis inquired "You're not feeling well?"
"Uh? N-no no, I'm fine! Perfectly fine. It's just… quite hot in here" Prompto answered a bit too quickly, rubbing the back of his head as he usually did when he was nervous.
Ignis simply raised his eyebrows and went back to flipping pancakes. Prompto didn't like the knowing smirk that had appeared on the cook's face one bit.
After a few moments of silence, the door upstairs opened, and the two man could hear the sounds of light footsteps on the wooden floor. Iris appeared a few seconds after, still trying to fix her damp hair.
"Good morning!" she said, making sure to ignore Prompto. The boy simply smirked at her.
"Slept well?" Ignis asked, serving a new plate with pancakes.
"Can't say I haven't" she answered "Wow, thank you, Iggy!"
They all ate in silence, Ignis's eyes switching from Prompto to Iris.
When they were finished, Ignis began cleaning up.
"Why don't you two go out for a walk? It's still some time before Noct will delight us with his presence" the spectacled friend suggested.
Prompto and Iris exchanged a look, the girl quickly looking away when her eyes met his.
"Yeah, let's" the photographer suggested with a sly grin. Iris had no other choice but follow him, as it would have sounded impolite to refuse the offer.
She walked behind the blond gunslinger, making sure she kept a certain distance. She could smell his fresh scent lingering in the air around her, and her body suddenly ordered her to close the distance between them, but she forced herself to ignore it.
She watched as Prompto took some pictures of colorful birds, chirping at them from the tall trees, while the sun rose in the sky, bathing them with its warm rays.
She felt the familiar feeling of being framed. Prompto was indeed aiming his camera at her, while kneeling on the damp soil by the backyard. He took a picture before she could open her mouth to protest, and smiled proudly to himself while checking the result.
"You should be more confident about yourself, Iris. I think you look rather good in this one" he said with a genuine smile.
He stepped closer until he was standing beside her, leaning in to show her the picture he had taken of her. He was so close now that the only thing she was breathing was his scent, his unruly, blond hair tingling her cheek. She could see every single freckle on his face, and took in the cheerful expression he always seemed to be wearing. She suddenly realized how much she wanted to be noticed by him, to be liked by him in more than a friendly way. She wanted him to look at her the same way he looked at Cindy, but she knew she would never be that kind of girl. She could feel a painful, burning sensation deep within her stomach, the very same one that used to plague her since she had met Noctis. With the exception that now it was not caused by the dark-haired prince, but by his blond, cheerful best friend!
"I think I did a pretty good job!" Iris could hear his voice ringing in her head, still full with her thoughts about him.
"Y-yeah, as always!" she agreed distractedly, trying to pretend she hadn't been fantasizing.
"Hey, you two over there!"
They both averted their eyes from Prompto's camera and looked in the direction where Ignis's voice had come from. Noctis was standing beside the spectacled cook, desperately trying to keep his eyes open while lazily biting on his pancake.
It was time to retrieve the mythril stone.
Hehe, Prompto can be a bit of a jerk, too :D
Next Chapter: Noctis, Ignis, Prompto and Iris embark on a quest with Aranea Highwind to obtain a mythril ore. Prompto receives a well-deserved hug ^O^ The party sets sail to Altissia and Iris decided to join Prompto to visit the romantic city.