Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy XV, nor any of it's characters.

Rating: T

As the disclaimer said, this takes place after my semi-retelling of FFXV, and it's somewhat-altered events. Now, we'll see how Noctis and Iris go about things post-eternal night

Hammerhead

Outside Secondary Hunter HQ

Noctis sidestepped the blow, then had to back up as Iris pressed the attack against him - as practiced though, after a few blows, he sidestepped her next attack and aimed the flat of his 'blade' at Iris's arm. Yet again, it hit her body with a 'Smack' rather than going through it, and she made a sound even as their combat paused; luckily the weapons were foam, so no harm could be done.

"Yet again" Iris said, a little put-off as she lightly rubbed her arm, if sheepishly smiling. "It's harder than you make it look, Noct, this 'phasing'."

He gave a little nod as his lip curved, easing out of the stance.

"Well, that's just from years of practice. I didn't get it right away myself, much less that easy when I did get it" he said, gentle. She'd done it twice by accident thus far - when throwing across open spaces - but she hadn't quite gotten the trigger yet, but they're working on it. "In fact, since I told them about the new conditions, the guys are similarly taking their time learning how to do this."

She gave a little nod. "True enough, I guess" she said, before seeming curious. "By the way though, which royal arm did they choose?"

He glanced up for a moment. "Well, Prompto chose the shuriken" Noctis started, choosing not to use their official names (since Iris was still getting used to which was which). "Ignis chose the katana. And Gladio chose the dual swords. These help add to their strengths while covering a bit more of their weaknesses."

"In other words, 'why not?'" Iris added, almost playfully smirking; he slowly chuckled a little. "But good for them, aiming to be more balanced."

"Heh, yeah."

She gained an almost-knowing look about his 'answer', before holding up her weapon again, far more intense and serious in preparation - he began to get ready for another round too, seeing this.

But before either of them could start:

"Your Highness!"

They both looked across the road, finding that the caller was Cindy, waving a hand and everything.

"I finally got the darn thing finished, and ya'll can check it out at your leisure" Cindy continued, as cheery as ever. Despite that though, Noctis still found it weird how Cindy could sound world-weary sometimes, though that's not to say she had ever lost her drive. "Come on over to the garage and have a looksee, if it's not too much trouble."

"We'll be right over, Cindy" he called back, before looking at Iris. "Talk about timing."

Iris just gave a chuckle. "Because this is so close by, I'm tempted to say 'race ya', and then kick your butt with a head start" she answered, completely teasing as she took care of her mock-weapon. He had to struggle not to smirk, but wasn't surprised by the comment, even as he wondered (and admired) yet again how she could switch from serious during training to her normal teasing so easily.

That aside, it's sure not a bad thing; he rather liked it.

...

"So, this here be your official tool, Your Highness."

Noct took the tablet thing from Cindy, holding it so she (Iris) could also see, even as Cindy moved around to his other side. "As ya'll can see, you have the base model that ya can then edit and such" Cindy continued, using her finger to demonstrate various bits. "Each part will bring up a list of options, including shape and all sorts of other stuff. And 'course, details telling ya'll what they'll do. Then this here 'special section' is parts I could add on with your permission, including it being able to soar through the sky like a bird."

A second of surprise, from both her and Noct.

"Wait, it could fly?" Iris asked, seriously impressed.

"With a bunch of special components, Iris" Cindy said with ease, hand on her hip. "Found 'em in Niflheim's former bases here. While old, they're still quite reliable; it'd be a simple matter for me and Pumpkin to hook 'em up for ya both. Landing would be real tricky though, according to Paw-paw."

"I don't doubt Cid's word on that" Noct said, eyebrows briefly raised. "Still, this is impressive Cindy. I'm glad both you and Prompto are willing to make a new Regalia."

"Well, Regalia in spirit anyway" Cindy admitted, less cheerful now - with one hand, she adjusted her trucker hat. "Even if they be 'xactly alike, the old girl's gone, and it's a darn shame... still, Your Highness, we'll make ya'll a new car worthy of your title, one that'll rival the Regalia or surpass her. It won't be easy, but I'll see 'er done."

Noct soon held out his hand, which Cindy shook.

"Just let us finalize the design, before you start anything" he said, sincere. "I still have yet to pay you two."

"I woulda been willing to work for nothing, believe you me" Cindy said, quite sincere. "But if the King's insisting on paying, I won't turn him down either."

"Still, thank you" he answered, receiving a small nod. "Once we've decided, you'll get this back first thing."

"A done deal. When that happens though, let's all have ourselves a party to celebrate - all the guys be welcome too, so give them a holler."

Iris let out a little laugh. "Will do, Cindy. Hope it's soon, but really, good job on this tablet design."

Cindy returned the little laugh, winking. "All in a day's work" she said, half-turning. "Now if ya'll excuse me, Your Highness, Iris, I should get things prepared for today's project."

"Sure thing, Cindy."

"When we have that party though, I'm setting you and 'Pumpkin' up under mistletoe" Iris called after her, entirely teasing-

-Cindy didn't turn around, or slow in the slightest; still, Iris could've sworn she shook her head slightly, perhaps trying not to laugh. Smiling to herself, she turned a little, finding Noct looking at her with a 'curious' eyebrow-raised look, almost as if he's debating whether she's serious or not.

"Don't worry, Noct. I was joking, and Cindy knows that" Iris assured, hands behind her back. "It's how I tease her regarding her 'private' relationship with Prompto."

He took a few moments, before letting out a breath/chuckle.

"I hope that's true" he played along, more mild as he turned; she soon followed, walking along with him. "Still, back to the matter at hand."

"Of course. I can't believe Cindy could get a car to fly" she admitted, letting out a small laugh. "That'd be quite the rush, and it'd become quite famous too, particularly if it's the King's ride."

"So it would" Noct agreed, looking the tablet over for a few more seconds, before he tucked it away. "Yet when they find out Hammerhead's garage built it, they'll be swamped with requests to have that feature too."

"But unless there are more components, she'll have to say it's a one-time thing. That'll be disappointing, for sure."

"Mmh."

Iris privately smirked; Noct and his 'occasional' single-digit-or-less responses.

"Still, that's for later, when Cindy and Prompto can actually start building the Regalia 2.0" she admitted, brushing her fingers against his - seconds later, they came close to the road and it's railing. "After our training time is up, what's your schedule today, Noct?"

For a time, Noct half-sat against said railing, occasionally glancing at the secondary Hunter's HQ across the road. Even now, other trainees and several Kingsglaive could be seen on the building's sides, practicing like there's no tomorrow - an old habit from eternal night - with the latter having also kept an eye on them from a distance, just in case Noct or her needed them for something.

"Well after training, I do have conferences with Cor and Aranea; the usual state-of-affairs talks and such" he said, thoughtful as he looked over the terrain now, seeming nostalgic. "Then tomorrow and the day after that, I have a lot of bigger stuff planned, including a visit to Accordo to meet with Camelia again. Then there's a free day that hasn't been filled up yet, but that and the days after are still being determined."

"Any chance then that we could skip training today, and do something else?" Iris asked, slightly mischievous. "This isn't me being lazy, but I don't think I'll get a breakthrough today."

Noct looked at her for a bit, seeming to gauge several things. "Judging by your tone, I'm assuming you have something planned?" he asked with a small smirk, rather snarky.

In return, she gave a little grin, moving her fingers in his.

"Something I've wanted to ask for awhile, but held off on. You got a swimsuit?"

He took several moments, not only registering the question but also the context behind it.

"...not this moment, but I'm sure I could get one easily enough" he said, a bit slower, before curiosity crept in. "Why did you hold off on asking that though?"

"Well as your girlfriend, my first instinct would've been to pick something that'd look good on me, and get your attention" Iris said, softer; he moved a bit at those words, probably internalizing his awkwardness. "Whether I'd look cute, beautiful, or- or even sexy, anything good like that would do. But at the same time, I knew doing that too early probably wouldn't work - back then, you probably would've been too awkward to look at me that way. It might've even made things harder for you in general, and I didn't want to do that... but now, I think we should be fine, especially since you said it's okay for me to make some small moves like that."

His cheeks hovered somewhere between normal and slightly-red, but his expression wasn't exactly awkward - his fingers briefly moved against hers, then squeezed them. "I... I probably would've been" he said more carefully, before easing up. "Awkward, I mean, but still fine. That aside- thank you, Iris, for considering my feelings."

To that, she just smiled.

After a bit, Noct returned the favor. "I probably could've handled that offer today" he admitted, before shaking his head. "But obviously I can't, since I don't have a swimsuit on me. And even if I did, we only have a few hours left here; if we were to swim, I'd rather we'd have plenty more time to uh... enjoy ourselves."

Conceding that with a 'Hmm', Iris was slightly disappointed that it wasn't gonna happen today, but was otherwise fine.

"Well then, I guess it's back to training" she said, to psyche herself into that mindset again. "If things go our way, we can go swimming on that free day you mentioned, and if not it'll have to wait a little longer. But for now, hopefully I'll get that breakthrough sooner than I think."

He gave a small 'heh', standing up straight now. "Well just do your best, as will I."

"Sure."

Insomnia

Several days later

"Looks like you've been been busy" Noctis said after a moment, looking around the area.

Sure, the trees and the small forest looked much the same as before, but the grass had definitely been trimmed. The area with the dead grass was now mostly barren, but tiny green stalks could be seen poking through the soil; no doubt a mass replanting effort had gone on recently... however, there was now a much bigger barren spot in the middle of the area.

Iris was somewhat sheepish, a hand moving over her lower back, the other keeping her bag's strap over her shoulder. "Everyone helped out, ripping up the roots and digging with shovels; that and all the other care was backbreaking." she said, giving a little smile. "We definitely felt that at the end of the day, including Gladdy. Still, some of the major work's done - just gotta build the actual house, and the utilities stuff. Sounds simple... but has a lot of work involved there."

He kept looking for a bit, before making a sound as he turned around.

"You're really working hard for this, Iris" he said, more gentle.

Her expression softened. "Well, as I'm sure we all do, I'd like a place that's my own. A proper one" she said, looking out toward the shoreline now. "This will make sure of that, even though I still need to wait awhile."

Noctis moved over, slipping his hand into hers after a moment, and she gave him a smile in return.

"But, we're not here for a full tour. Not yet" Iris continued, more cheery. "You wearing your swimsuit, Noct?"

"Underneath my clothes, as you told me" he answered, a bit mild. "I also assume this is where you'll tease me, saying you wouldn't mind if I watched you?"

By now, it's getting somewhat easier to stay stuff like that, though his mental preparation helped - he still felt awkward of course, but is otherwise fine. Plus given that Iris is vocally forward, it's a matter of when, not if she'd say something like that... he thought it's sorta, well cute sometimes, and still envied her ability to be like that.

Her cheeks turned a bit pink, but other than that/slight surprise, Iris didn't seem affected.

After a moment: "I see you're starting to really get me, Noct" she breathed, simply sincere.

"Well, uh, it has been awhile" Noctis pointed out, trying to adjust. "I'm getting used to your teases."

A little nod, before her smile softened yet again. "Well, I guess I'll leave it up to you."

"Huh?"

"It's your choice, Noct. You can watch, or you can look away; I don't think I'll mind either way."

When this registered this, he felt a small rush, and might've lost his balance where he stood; thankfully he stopped that reaction before anything could happen. Still, he'd been expecting her to play along with the tease as usual, not actually take it seriously... w-wow. Not helping the matter was that- that well, as her boyfriend and having been dating for almost five months now, he's allowed to look, within reason. And in the back of his mind, he knew these nervous reactions were mainly due to awkwardness, yet when it counted, he could handle things.

This is no different.

"You- you really wouldn't mind, Iris?" Noctis asked, trying not to mumble. "I didn't expect that."

Iris gave off a hum, moving her fingers in his before she pulled away. "I can handle it, and of course I trust you. Might be a little nervous, but that's natural" she admitted, gentle. "But if you're not comfortable with-"

"I'm not" he said quickly, instinctively, before making a sound. "I mean, uh- I'm not used to it, but I don't think I'd have a problem with it... u-unless being awkward counts."

Sure, he's starting to slowly ease, but it'd still been unexpected.

She giggled a little, if understanding.

"Well, I'd probably be the same, just a little" Iris assured. "But it'll be okay, Noct. Really."

He didn't answer, inwardly adjusting to this situation, to make sure he'll be okay; Iris had surprised him with that answer, but he understood her reasoning. If it turned out she'd been completely immodest, he wasn't sure how he would've reacted... but then again, even if she was, Iris wasn't the type who'd take every opportunity to showcase it.

"Thanks, Iris" he breathed, before slowly gesturing. "Still uh... we should get down to the shoreline now."

"Yeah. Let's go."

...

By the time they got down to the shoreline, the small exercise had helped clear his mind, even as he settled more into the situation.

Sure, he might be a little awkward at first, but what else is new?

He'd been the first to slip his clothes off, and out of the corner of his eye, Noctis saw Iris curiously lingering over his chest a bit, which gave him several reactions. He almost swore that her cheeks started to redden though, but then she looked straight at him with a little smile, before putting her bag on the ground and digging out their towels. After that, she began to start just as he did, leaving his heart to beat faster when he noticed - he couldn't bring himself to look full-on while she took her clothes off (even if he knew she's wearing her swimsuit underneath), but he didn't turn away either. Instead he focused on finishing the job, fully slipping his pants off and leaving himself wearing only a pair of black swimming trunks - the small chill from the air contrasted his body heat, just a bit.

As for Iris's swimsuit, she had a mainly black two-piece with some reddish color accents in the design, the bottom of which also had a skirt. While he wasn't overly much about it, he did look at the end, mostly in curiosity - Iris herself did a few stretches (which was a good idea), only noticing his look after a few seconds, but she had little reaction beyond a smile.

To be honest, his gaze was split between the way her swimsuit looked on her, and how Iris looked in general. Surviving eternal night, fighting off daemons - with a number of scars to prove it - and everything else had made her pretty fit, and definitely a touch more muscular than she'd ever been when she was younger.

...and hell did he approve.

"Sooo?" Iris breathed, hands behind her back now.

Yup, she wanted his opinion as usual.

"It- it looks great on you, Iris" Noctis said, better by the end. "Although... I'm getting strong vibes of your old outfit."

A little grin, glancing down at herself before she did an on-the-spot 'twirl'. "That's what I had in mind when I bought it, along with making sure it looked great" she said sincerely, before becoming a little mischievous: "But are you one to talk, Noct? You're wearing black like you always have, and probably always will as our King."

He smirked a bit, recognizing her bait. "That's the joke" he answered, snarky-

-and soon they were laughing a little, Iris with a hand near her mouth while doing so.

"A good one too. Still, you look great yourself, Noct" Iris admitted, moving closer before she visibly glanced at his chest/midsection.

...Which was probably impling 'in more ways than one'; thankfully, he wasn't surprised or overly-flustered.

"Thank you" Noctis breathed then, starting to walk toward the shoreline - a few steps ahead, he half-turned, if hiding a smirk now.

"Now, as I believe you might say... race ya!"

He left Iris in the dust, stunned for a second before she jolted out of it.

"Noct!" she called after him, equal parts laughing and disbelieving even as she followed. "Get back here!"

Chuckling, Noctis soon ran into the shallows, splashing water everywhere - it was a little cold yet thoroughly sun-warmed, so he kept going. As he got up to this waist, he heard more splashing that meant she's close on his tail, but he still kept going with a little smirk.

Must faster than he expected, Iris's arms came around his chest, forcibly stopping him as he struggled a little for balance-

-and very much in the back of his mind, noticing that her body is pressed against his back.

"You're not getting away from me that easily, Noct" came her playful voice, straight against his ear; he felt a small chill that had nothing to do with the water. "But what a nice surprise it was too."

"W-Well, that was the point" he said, managing a mild tone. "And uh, can you let go of me now?"

A little giggle, before her grip loosened, and then she turned him around on the spot with her hands - Iris' eyes were gleaming, bits of water clinging to her stomach/elsewhere. "Well, just looks like I have to return the favor" she said, completely teasing-

-then in the blink of an eye, she splashed him with water.

Sputtering slightly, seeing Iris standing there giggling, Noctis smirked and returned the favor; her little shriek of delight was what he liked to hear. It wasn't long before a little 'war' was set off, and by then they barely noticed the water's actual chill; he was having too much fun to care.

Including when partway through, Iris suddenly run straight at him, 'throwing herself at him'-

-naturally, he'd been quite unprepared, and they both went down with a giant splash.

The cold shock of the water, plus resisting the urge to breath, made him take a second to recover: thankfully, despite a lot of bubbles, he could see just fine underwater. Iris remained attached to him for that moment, also getting used to being/seeing underwater before she let go, small bubbles briefly streaming from her mouth. Noctis had to admit, it was weird-yet-interesting to see her hair floating in place like that, though he imagined the same was happening to him too... still, the moment didn't last long. Iris soon kicked upward, and he quickly followed her lead since they couldn't hold their breath for much longer; he hadn't been prepared for that when she tackled him, after all.

They both surfaced easily, taking a moment to do just that.

"Hell of a warning there, Iris" he managed to say, if mild.

For that, Iris half-heartedly splashed him, but with a giggle (and he chuckled). "Well, that's what surprises are for" she teased, brushing some wet strands from her face. "Still, I thought we might dive under for a bit longer. Do you wanna?"

Seeing as they're both already drenched, Noctis shrugged; why not?

Iris gave a little smirk, then took a deep breath and dove underneath, and he soon followed - the first thing he registered after opening his eyes was Iris swimming really close to him. Then she cupped his face with both hands, giving a bright smile, and just as he began to wonder, she kissed him then and there.

To say he'd been shocked was a a bit of an understatement; he really hadn't been expecting that.

N-Not to say he didn't like it, or didn't return the favor - on both counts, he did, at least eventually on the latter - but this only reinforced his deep-seated impression: Iris is something else.

...

Considerably later

"Aannnddddd... I win!"

"Heh, yeah yeah; payback for my earlier head start. I got that."

Grinning a bit, Iris just made her way out of the water, trying not to shiver; whew. "I told you I'd return the favor" she teased, even as she dug into her bag, sitting down at the same time - she tossed a towel at Noct, who caught it easily. "And it helps that you let me get such a head start."

"It made us fair" he said easily, busy with drying his head now; she gave off a silent giggle, but started doing the same.

Minutes went by like that, though halfway through Noct chose to sit beside her, which she had absolutely no issues with. In fact, having dried off her upper body, she leaned against his arm, and he didn't jolt at all - after a second, his hand even started moving over her back. Iris noted that after all the fun they'd had, he no longer seemed awkward at all today, though that's not to say he couldn't still be. It made her smile, knowing she'll always like it when he's awkward, shy, or a dork... even if he can't publicly show it much as their King, she'll enjoy it in private.

Especially his reaction when she'd kissed him underwater; she'd wanted to try that, just to see what it's like.

It had definitely been interesting, and sorta-difficult, but still romantic.

After a minute or so, she was about to suggest they put on their regular clothes now, before pausing; Noct was fingering the back strap of her swimsuit top. Literally: his forefinger would nip at the strap on the way down, just enough that it would 'snap back' (if that counted as such), then moving back up and repeating the same motions, over and over.

Heart beating faster if a bit curious, she looked at Noct-

-who was looking at her in return, mouth moving slightly; his finger paused. "That's uh- that's just a tease I'm doing" he whispered, a little lower. "Although, I do wonder if..."

He trailed off, no doubt trying to gather his resolve, but Iris soon got the implication and began to feel warm.

"If I just want us to be close, like normal, or if- if I'd like to go a little further than that" Iris whispered for him.

A brief look of relief, and his shoulders slumped. "Yeah" Noct whispered, before letting out a breath. "And have I ever told you how- mmh, how grateful t-that I am, that you can accurately guess what... what I try to say?"

Iris took his free hand in both of hers, kissing his fingers.

"Not out loud, but I knew anyway" she assured him, entirely soft. "It wasn't hard to guess. Still, thank you, Noct."

He slowly nodded, giving a slight smile even as he moved his hand, which came up up to brush against her cheek. He slipped closer then, giving her a kiss that lasted for a few seconds - her heart-rate was still up, wondering what might happen next, but she wasn't nervous.

"I wouldn't mind us doing so" she whispered, staying close. "But which do you want? The usual stuff, or a little more?"

Noct was silent for a time, both hands moving over her arms...

"For me, I'd like to do the usual small stuff for awhile, but- but maybe you can start with a little more, Iris. I-If you're okay with that."

The warmth started building in her chest now, and she felt a bit excited despite knowing it won't be much more - she smiled again, then gently kissed Noct's neck, just under his jawbone. He barely moved, though his breath was a little heavier, before his hands started moving onto her back - knowing he'll take his time, Iris repeated the affection, content to wait for that.

But as soon as it felt okay to her, she quickly brushed her fingertips over his chest, just to explore - basically what 'a little more' meant at this point. At times, she'd definitely been tempted to do that before now, so this was just sweet... a tiny part of her also began to wonder, about what it would be like when they got used to this, and started wanting a little more.

What then?

She didn't know... honestly, she wasn't exactly ready to think about it, and not just because she wanted to focus on their their situation right now...

More of a 'breather' fluff chapter, but still setting up a bit for future events.