Hii guys. Sorry for the late update. I kinda had a writers block. I have a feeling that this will be a long, long story...hahaha...Don't shoot me please!

Also thank you for the kind reviews. When I see reviews it makes me want to update much more, so thank you so much! Don't forget R&R

Also please excuse my spelling errors! I just don't seem to realize they're there until after I update the chapter. Trust me, I reread like crazy, and after updating I find the error of my ways, but don't worry I will fix them.

Actually, what doesn't help is that I update at like, 12-2am in the morning, when I'm practically having my head fall on my keyboard...hehe...

It wasn't late. It was only two minutes past seven. He closed down his shop for the day and went out for a walk in the park. He still couldn't figure out why he had given his best friend's sword to some stranger. He wanted to find the girl and get the sword back, but doing that would be wrong of him. Zack walked along the park. It wasn't dark yet, there was still people around at such an hour. Many were from the guardian force, others were couples out on dates.

He smiled as he saw all of this. He sat down on a bench to contemplate the scenery.

It was her birthday. He missed being there when the brat blew out the candles on her cake. He missed her throwing some cake at him. Ten years past, and he lived on with that guilt. He knew, that others like him, were looking at the same sky he was. Remembering the young Queen.

Zack sighed again.

"Hey brat. Happy 21st. You're officially an adult." He whispered to the soft breeze that blew past his ears. Nothing was ever gonna change, he knew that for sure.

Tenebrae

Noctis stood against the wall watching all the guests at the party. He didn't smile, not one bit. Occasionally his friends would come by and make him smile, but that was it. If it were him, he would be out with his friends, traveling Pulse. But his father had other plans in mind.

To the people it seemed as if Noctis was glaring at them, they dared not open a conversation with him, they passed by, without making eye contact. He was aware of that, and was glad he was acting the way he was.

"Noctis, smile, its our celebration after all." He glanced to his side. There she was, his fiancee, Stella Nox Fleuret. The princess of Tenebrae, and one day future Queen. His future Queen. He hated that idea. He hated how his father forced him into marriage. He didn't hate Stella. He didn't love her either. Stella smiled. "You should know better than to act in such a manner, Noctis." She scolded. Noctis turned to glare at her. She was no one to tell him what to do. It was a bad idea to form an alliance with Tenebrae. But it wasn't his choice, it was his fathers.

"Are you ready for our trip to Cocoon?" She smiled, giving the nobles at the banquet something to admire. Noctis looked up to her raising an eyebrow. "Our?" He asked.

"Yes, silly. We are going to celebrate in Cocoon." He turned away from her. He did not like the idea. "What part of Cocoon?" He asked again.

"The Capital, Eden. I heard we'll be staying at a beautiful palace. The one that belonged to the previous family." She smiled. "Its not ours to take." He replied to her. Stella giggled. "Yes it is, once Cocoon lost the war, everything that belonged to them was ours to take." Noctis turned to glare at her. But Stella ignored it.

"I won't go, I have business to attend to in Midgar." He replied plainly.

"Stella, I will put on the appearance of a happily engaged man. But know this, our engagement is for business only. I will never love you. I can rule a kingdom by myself. This is only to please my father." He glared at her, and he walked off to be by himself. A frown slipped onto Stella's face. She glared back at him. "You arrogant idiot." She muttered to herself.

Noctis had heard exactly what the young princess had said. But to simply put it, he didn't care.

"Hey Noct!" Gladiolus grinned at his best friend. "Trouble in paradise already?" His other friend Ignis smirked a bit. Noctis sighed. "You have no idea...she wants me to go to Cocoon."

"What for?" Gladiolus asked.

"I can assure you, she is seeking more attention than a proper lady should."

And, Ignis was right as always. Because Stella loved the attention of the people.

Truth in all, Noctis was beginning to dislike her. Hate was too strong a word to use towards her. The spoofs of love Stella gave him where suffocating him. He wanted a chance to escape the party, but to no avail. But then, it struck him. He had a perfect excuse to leave. A smile played on his lips, as he walked off to see his father. The two men looked at each other, left in curiosity that Noctis would suddenly smile so freely. The smile wasn't forced. What a big shocker that was.

"Father." Noctis took a deep breath before he spoke. "I will be excusing myself from the party. I feel tired, and I have preparations to do for my trip." The King looked down at his son and smiled. "Noctis, there is no need for permission." Noctis nodded his head and left, with his two best friends tailing behind him.

Noctis was finally out of there. That woman gave him headaches, and he couldn't stand her any longer. She always made his day go bad. He walked along the streets of Astrum with his two best friends. The streets were filled with lively folk. Many shops, restaurants, and bars still were open. Noctis stopped to look at his friends. "She asked me to go to Cocoon with her..seriously...why?"

"What a brave princess." Gladiolus smirked. In turn, he received a glare from Ignis and Noctis. "Honestly Gladioluw, I would have expected that from Prompto." The man shrugged. "Kinda quiet without the guy here, huh?" They all nodded in agreement.

"I think its time for me to leave now. I have to rest before my trip. You guys should rest too. You're coming with me to Midgar aren't you?"

The two men looked at each other, they both smiled. "Of course Noct, we'd never leave you alone buddy!" Noctis chuckled lightly. "Thanks guys. You two better get some rest also, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

With that in mind, the three parted ways, each to his own for the remainder of the night.

Stella saw Noctis leave, and she was not happy. She too excused herself from the party. She also had some preparations of her own to attend to. She had a speech to prepare for the people of Cocoon. She smiled at the thought of having them all wrapped around her finger.

She was going to have alot of fun in Cocoon for the next few days. She was sure of it.

"Hey Light I'm going out for a while." Lightning turned her head towards the door. "Be careful Serah. You know I don't like you going out alone." Serah smiled. "Its okay, I'll be alright." Lightning nodded her head. She didn't like the idea of Serah going out by herself. Atleast if she said Snow was coming along...No it was good. Snow was far away from her sister at the moment, and she wanted it to be that way. Then the thought struck her. "Serah. Who are you going with? Snow?"

"No, Silly, just by myself. Snow had some other plans today so I'm not gonna be with him." Lightning sighed in relief. "Okay, Serah be careful." Serah giggled. "Okay, Silly. I'll be back soon." With that said she shut the door behind her.

Lightning was alone for the time being.

"And today it was announced! Princess Stella, and Prince Noctis have been engaged!" She didn't notice, but Serah had left the tv on. She heard the word Noctis and she turned her head to the tv screen. There they were. Stella and Noctis. She remembered Noctis as clear as the night sky. She met him once when she was a kid, and from the start she hated his arrogant nature.

"And in two days, Princess Stella will grace us with her beauty! That's right folks, She will be staying at our Capital City, Eden for two months!" Lightning turned the TV off. Two whole months in the presence of her enemy. She couldn't do anything about it. It was very sad indeed.

She walked alone through the park. It wasn't quiet, there was a lot of people around. Bodhum was never a quiet place. She loved this City, she was going to miss it. But she was glad she was going back to Eden, after ten years of absence. She never mentioned it to Lightning, but apart from history, she signed up for some political science. It would do her good in the future. Just in case...if she ever got her rights as princess back. Serah sighed at the thought.

As Zack observed the people walking by, something caught his eye, and it was Serah. He grinned lightly and waved. "Hey Missy! Remember me?" Serah turned her head at the familiar voice. "Uncle Zack.." a smile appeared on her face. "Hi Uncle Zack!" She jumped up and waved, running over to him. Zack was speechless. No one but the two brats would call him by that name. He looked up at Serah.

"Did you just call me, Uncle Zack?"

Serah blinked while she looked at him. Having realized what she had done she smiled nervously. What else was she to say? "Oops..I sorry...No. I'm not sorry. You have a right to know. " Zack only looked at her. He wanted to confirm his suspicions, he wanted to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. "A right to know what?"

Serah twiddled her fingers lightly, while looking down. "I'm Serah, Serah Farron Strife." She replied back. Zack was left speechless. He couldn't believe what he had heard. It must have been his mind, what else could it have been? "Nah..it can't be..right?" Serah shook her head, with a gentle look in her eyes. "Its me, I'm alive, and so is my sister."

Zack took a deep breath. When he looked at Serah, she had the same look Aerith used to give him. Her eyes were gentle. He looked away from her. "How...you kids were reported dead..."

"It was a lie to get us out of Cocoon. We lived in Pulse for ten years, just last year we moved here to Bodhum." Zack chuckled lightly. "You two are alive...you're not dead. You're alive..."He kept repeating those same words. He felt himself shake a little. A lot of emotions filled him. Serah noticed. "Yes, Uncle Zack.." She kept looking at him with those same gentle eyes as before. Zack turned to look at her.

"I'm so sorry.." He felt his voice began to shake a little. "I couldn't protect your father...my best friend...I couldn't save him. I failed you, your Highness...I failed her Majesty, I failed everyone..." Serah stood there watching the strong man before her break down like a child. He was shaking. How long had he kept all of this cooped in? She gave him a soft smile and she leaned in to give him a big embrace. "Uncle Zack.." She gently rubbed his head, as if he were a small child.

"I never once blamed you. You did your best, you gave it your all, that's all that mattered. You endured so much all of your life." She paused. Zack was taken by surprise at her embrace. He relaxed in her arms, like a small child would do with their mother. "I'm proud of you. I'm proud to call you my Uncle. I'm sure my sister feels the same way." She added.

Zack felt at ease with her words. He had never broken down in front of anyone in such a way, not even in front of Cloud. He was always the cheery guy who used to brighten up everyone's mood. Now he was the one being cheered up. He felt foolish. At the same time, he smiled at Serah's words. He pulled out of her embrace and he laughed lightly. "Sit down Little Missy." Serah smiled when she saw that Zack was smiling also. She did as she was told. She sat down right next to him.

"That gentle look you get in your eyes when you're comforting someone, is the same as hers. You're a gentle person Serah." Zack laughed lightly. "If you're like Aerith, then no doubt about it that the brat is just like her old man." Serah nodded her head giggling. "That's very true!"

"Lightning is stubborn, proud-"

"Wait what? Lightning?" Zack interrupted. She had forgotten about that. She needed to let him know that her sister changed her name. "Well, she discarded her name. She didn't want to be a weak girl like she claims she was, so she created a new name for herself. She wanted to protect me. She wanted to be a new person, so to her, 'Eclair' is dead." Zack listened in closely. "She shoulders all the burdens to herself, and never once lets me worry."

Zack broke out into a small chuckle. "Aha, just like her old man alright." He paused. "21 years old. I'm glad it was you I gave that blade to." He said, going off the topic. It was too good to be true. Maybe he was dreaming. If he was, he didn't want to wake up from this dream.

They talked some more, both of them. They both laughed and kept on talking. Serah told him about College, Snow, and Lightning's job. Zack would also pat Serah's head every now and then. She felt warmth from him. It had been long since she felt protective hands such as his. Her father wasn't around, but Zack was. That at least counted for something. She knew she could trust him with anything. Thats what mattered.

"Oh, oops, I have to get going, Lightning is going to start to worry." Zack smiled. "I'll come visit you in Eden, kiddo. I promise you that."

"Thanks" She smiled. She knew he wouldn't break his promise. But she wouldn't see him often. At the same time she was glad he was still around. She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Bye Uncle Zack!" She waved and ran off home before Lightning sent an entire search party after her. Zack headed off his own direction as well. He had to open up his shop early, so he needed some TV, coffee and sleep. He yawned heading off home.

As soon as Serah got home she told her sister everything.

"So you told him..." She said softly. "I'm glad your happy." She added. Serah looked up to her. "You should go see him, it would brighten his day even more."

"No, its alright. We'll see each other sometime, but now is not the time. He will see me soon enough." Lightning turned her head to smile at Serah. "Night." She waved as she headed off to bed. Serah yawned following her sister.

Lightning was happy, Serah knew that. Because like her, she also cared deeply for Zack Fair. Even if her sister was as stubborn as a mule, Serah could tell when her sister radiated happiness. And that's what mattered the most. Lightning's happiness.

More mushy mushy stuff, but this time between, Zack and his favorite Niece ;3

Also Note: The word Astrum is latin for Stars, also. :] It sounded like a nice city name.

I wouldn't mind having Zack as my Uncle, that would be way to cool. Also, sorry if I made Zack seem kinda OOC. It was kinda the point a little. I portrayed him as a human being. I mean who wouldn't break down after seeing someone you thought dead, alive? Especially after ten years. SO. NO flaming.

I know what type of person Zack is. He's the big protective brother I always wanted, and thats how I will be portraying him in this story. Also, that's the type of person he seems to be to Cloud. ;D So, again no flaming, read for you personal pleasure, and this writing is for my personal pleasure.

Ah, sorry for blabbing so much. Well tune in next time on the same channel. Read and Review!