Year ME 753, October

"Come on! You were lying when you said you never played!" He complained as he watched his character die for the third time.

"Nope, it's just a matter of strategy, YOU keep plunging in without a plan." She mused with a victorious smirk on his lips, her gaze shifted towards the clock and placed the controller down. "Time for bed." She stretched her back and arms.

"Already? I haven't won once!" The prince pouted as he pointed at the game.

"Yeah, I have to wake up early tomorrow, your dad called me in, and you have to work."

Noctis sighed as he threw himself on the couch. "Bummer."

She gave him a smile before her gaze loomed over the homework Ignis gave him.

"What's this?"

"Ignis left it behind." He mumbled as he gave the book a dirty look.

Selene raised an eyebrow and looked loosely over it. "This is a report about the recent reunion with the king." She pointed as she looked back at him. Noctis was now laying on the couch with his back towards her. "You should read it."

"I know." He mumbled.

"Hmm, did you have a fight with Ignis?" He twitched, she got it right on the first try. Selene sighed and walked towards him, bumping his head with the documents. "Noctis, you know, sometimes it's hard to know what you're thinking, even after knowing you for so long, I know you're worried about your father." He twitched again. "But you shouldn't throw your worry at Ignis, especially when he's one of your oldest friends, okay?"

He looked at her and grabbed the hand that held the documents to his head, he sat up without letting go. "I know…" He mumbled.

She stared at him for a moment before sighing and flicking his forehead.

"HEY!"

"Sulking doesn't suit you, you're 18 now, get over it. I'm going to bed!"

He glared at her as he rubbed the place she'd flicked. "Night!" He shouted as Selene walked out of the living.

"Sweet dreams." She shouted back with a lazy wave of her hand and a teasing tone.

She came back around dinner time, as she approached the living room, she found both Noctis and Ignis eating ramen.

"Well, I see you two made up." She said as she threw her bag to the couch and threw herself towards it.

"Want some?" Noctis asked as he slurped his cup.

"Hmm…" Selene hummed as she looked at him. "Chicken flavor!"

"Yeah, yeah…" He got up and grabbed the cup from the shelf and placed the hot water inside it.

"You went to see his majesty, is there something wrong?" Ignis asked as he brought both his cup and Noctis, to the sink to wash and then throw away.

"Hmm…"

Noctis stopped what he was doing and looked at her, a frown appearing on his expression. "You received a new mission, didn't you?"

Ignis eyes widened as he stared at the young woman.

Selene sighed. "Yes."

The prince walked towards her and stared into her eyes. "What is it?" He demanded.

"Confidential." Selene answered back.

He gripped his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. "It's something dangerous again…"

"Noct…" Ignis tried to say as he approached the two.

Selene stared at the prince for a moment and sighed. "It's not now, but next year, instead of going to Luna's place… I have to go somewhere else." She looked away from his gaze.

It had begun, the guardians were moving, which meant… the empire would also start moving.

She smiled at him. "Don't worry, it's not that hard of a mission." This was a lie, because… she would be on the frontlines.

That wasn't the problem… she was going away again, to someplace he couldn't watch her if she got hurt, where he couldn't know if she needed help.

A hand landed itself on his shoulder, Noctis looked at his oldest friend and frowned. "Do whatever you want."

Those words… they hurt. But what had she expected? As she thought, she shouldn't have shown that she could get hurt, not to Noctis or anyone in Lucii.

Year ME 753, November

She cleaned the dishes after dinner, since today was her turn to do so. Noctis sat at the table his fingers twitching with the cup of water he had on his hand.

"Hey, Selene, hum… actually I want to ask you something."

Her gaze lifted to him, and she tilted her head to the side. "What?"

Noctis blushed as he rubbed his neck. "So… hum… your birthday is coming up…"

Selene blinked confused before she tilted her head. 'Birthday? Wait? Is it that time already?' "Really? It's November, already?"

He rolled his eyes, of course, she'd forgotten. "Yeah. Seriously, who forgets their own birthday."

"I've been busy."

"Yeah, yeah, anyway… do you want to… go, somewhere?"

Her heart raced inside her chest, her cheeks turned red, much like Noctis cheeks.

"Oh… hum…" What should she say? Yes? No? Maybe? What did it mean? Was this a friendly invitation, or…? She held her arm, rubbing it faintly. "What… did you have in mind?"

He felt hot. Why was it so hot in here? Was the air conditioning broken? He looked at Selene and he was nervous, why was he nervous? They were friends, right? He just wanted to do something nice for his friend's birthday.

"Well… it did seem you wanted to visit that new amusement park… maybe we could go there?"

Her eyes widened as she recalled the last time, she'd mentioned the park. It was three months ago, Noctis and she went shopping after receiving a thorough complaining from Ignis about the empty fridge and the excessive number of snacks.

They were paying for the groceries when she'd stopped to read the flier placed upon the window. She'd only gazed at it for a moment, wondering how nice it would be to go and relax, before she looked back to the groceries.

She hadn't noticed the prince's gaze on her, nor had she known that he had inquired his adviser on the matter.

"You noticed?"

He blushed and cleared his throat. "Well, hum… yeah?"

Her heart drummed in her chest, and she smiled. "I would love to Noct… thank you."

The prince was caught off guard by her gentle smile, a smile that remembered him of when they were younger, he smiled back.

"No problem. It's a date."

She giggled and walked out the living room to her own room, on the second floor. "Night… Noct."

"Night."

He listened as she walked up the stairs and he remained still until he heard the door closing. Finally, the prince released the sigh he'd held in and he collapsed on the couch, hand covering his face.

His lips curled slightly and he chuckled. 'It's a date.' He'd said it without any intention, he just mentioned those words casually, but the minute he had said them his heart clenched in worry, his stomach fluttered uncomfortably has he waited for her reaction…

Of course, Selene had thought nothing of it. In her mind they were friends, and they were friends! Nothing had changed, he still cared for her dearly! But when had those feelings of friendship changed?

He liked her cooking and he enjoyed helping her doing it, but he hated when she put vegetables in… he liked playing videogames with her, even though he lost most of the times… He liked the way Selene brushed her hair when she came out of the shower, how she put it up in a ponytail… how she read with her legs on the back of the sofa, head hanging from the seat. The way her eyes shined when she laughed…

Yes, when was it? When did he stop seeing Selene as a friend and more as a woman?

She was nervous, why was she nervous? She'd face Behemoths, spectrums, griffons! An entire army of infantry! This should be easy!

She stared at the woman in the mirror, she didn't look at all confident in herself, she looked the opposite of it, she looked terrified. What's a girl supposed to wear to a date? She had none of those dresses Luna used, the ones she used were given to her by the king's butler! All her clothes consisted of sporty, practical, comfortable clothes! She had nothing cute, nothing girly!

Selene scouted her clothes, passing one shirt after the other until she realized what she was doing…

This was stupid… it wasn't a date, it was just Noctis being the good friend he'd always been, nothing else. She scoffed at her own foolishness and reached for her clothes. She chose a black high-necked top, black shorts and a white belt to hold it in place. Selene turned to her desk and scavenged for her earrings, a black leather strip band and a necklace with her name embedded in the dog tags.

She looked at herself in the mirror again. There, now she looked normal… As she reached for the door, Selene stopped, the corner of her eyes catching her jewel box… she sighed and swiftly she grabbed one of the hair pins Luna had once given her to hold her hair away from her eyes. It was a lovely black and white ribbon with a blue glassed stone in the middle.

She walked outside.

He shouldn't have said anything, what was he thinking!? This was a terrible idea! And… He glanced at Selene, she was wearing her usual clothes, but… why did his heart leap in his chest? Was it because he noticed the soft make-up? Because she'd wasted her time getting ready? Because they'd blushed like idiots when they saw each other?

"Great weather, today, glad its sunny." Augh, he should never have asked her out! This was so awkward!

Selene eyed him and nodded. "Yeah…" Silence fell on them as the train clacked on top of the railings… After a moment Selene had enough. "Okay, this is too weird!"

"I know! Why are we acting like two strangers!?"

"I don't know!"

"Can we just end it, then?"

"Agreed!"

They looked at each other and laughed, slowly things returned to normal and the two were able to talk normally, but… there was still something strange between them, something the two decided to ignore.

Her eyes shinned as she saw the roller coaster and he knew he was going to regret this when she gave him that smirk, that bright smirk, and for a moment Noctis saw the little girl that had been his childhood friend.

She'd loved every attraction, while he'd dreaded the Haunted house. They'd laughed and eaten all the junk food they could find and joked never to tell Ignis about it.

He didn't know when, but at some point, Noctis noticed they were holding hands… he didn't mention anything, nor did he remove them, it felt right.

"What do you want to do next?" Selene tilted her head as she balanced their hands, like a child, he smiled.

"Well… I think we've had enough for today, let's go before Ignis sends the entire Crownsguard after us."

He chuckled. "True, but there's still something we need to do."

"What?"

"Win that!" He stated as he stared at the cactus that was taunting him forever.

"Deal! You watch my back I watch yours."

She walked with a grin on her face as she held the huge black Chocobo against her chest.

Noctis looked at her with a soft smile. "That's definitely not fitting in the taxi."

She gasped and looked at him in a faux shocked and angry expression. "Are you saying my baby is fat!"

He laughed. "I'm saying he's huge! And you'll probably have to walk home, because no normal driver will allow you to go in with it."

She laughed with him and held her plushy. "Then just call Ignis, I'm sure he'll be more than glad to drive us."

"And here I thought you wanted our date to be just our own."

"Dream on, prince!"

They laughed, but the thundering sound of their hearts didn't subside. This was a date. He'd said it in the beginning, and he admitted it again. To rid his mind of it Noctis reached for his phone and speed dialed Ignis.

Year ME 754, February

Selene looked at the two in front of her and she sighed.

"Go in Gladio, let's have a look at that cut." She walked back to the bathroom, to bring out the first aid kit. "What happened?" She asked, to Noctis who was behind her as she grabbed everything she needed.

"… I was working…"

"I would guess so."

"One of the costumers got violent… Gladio stopped him and got hurt."

Selene hummed and walked out of the bathroom and towards the living room, where Gladio was holding a cloth against his face.

"Let's see." She said to the big man.

He removed his hand and allowed Selene to access it. The wound traveled from the top of his forehead, over his left eye and ended bellow his jawline.

"This will leave a scar." She warned him as she moved closer to see if it had affected his eyesight.

"That's fine." He said with a smirk.

She looked at him, not even bothering rolling his eyes at his stupidity. Male ego was something she hated about Ravus and every other man she'd ever met. Sirius seemed to be above such stupidity, he always complained when he got hurt. She sighed and began working on him.

Noctis stood close by, but away from them. His eyes on Gladio's face and Selene's working hands.

When she was finished, she reached for a potion and handed it to the man.

"I gave you first-aid. Use that to make sure you don't lose your eyesight. Honestly, how could you get hurt by a drunkard?" Gladio said nothing as he crushed the vial in his hand. "Well, I won't chew on you. I'm guessing Iris will do a better job than me. Want to stay over?"

"No…" Gladio rose with a grunt and with his good eye he looked at Selene. "Thanks, I'll be going now. Noct, don't do anything stupid, or if you do take Selene with you."

"Yeah, sorry Gladio…"

He smiled and ruffled the prince's hair. "My pleasure, prince."

When Gladio left he closed himself on his room. Selene sighed and said nothing, he would get over it.

Year 754, April

The constant noise of battle, the screams and the explosions were starting to affect her. Selene didn't like being in the frontlines, mainly because she always felt like someone else when she was in the frontlines. It was methodic and cold, she would slash, shoot, kick, punch and repeat, without a care without looking back at whom had fallen to her blade. But, she guessed it didn't matter, after all...

She plunged the sword deep into the man-machine and watched as it ceased its funtions. They didn't bleed, they didn't scream, they were just dolls, created for this war, with no other purpose. She stared coldly at the mask at the red eyes that lost thier glim and she turned her back to it. She had read the reports, seen what exactly those things were, but that didn't mean she didn't feel somethign when she destroyed them, after all, even if they weren't human now, at some point... they had been.

The earth shook slightly and when it did she received orders to fall back, and leave the area. She took but a glance towards the smoke in the distance before she did as she was ordered...

Year ME 754, August

He was feeling dizzy, and his head seemed to be lightheaded, he swung from side to side. Next, to him, Selene poured another drink.

"Come on, Noct! We still have half a bottle!"

"Augh... I don't think I can drink anymore..."

"Come on~ one more glass."

He sighed and grabbed the last glass, she grinned, her cheeks were bright red and she was overly happy.

She brought the cup towards his. "A toast! To your 19th birthday! I can finally drink with you, legally!"

He smiled as he took the cup from her hands. "You were drinking illegally before?"

"Yup! But now, no one can complain at me! Hehe, you should have seen Luna's first drink!" They drink the last cup.

"Why?" He remembered that she'd sent him a message, but he couldn't remember why?

"Hehe, she was only one shot and one cocktail in, and BANG head on the table! It was hilarious!" Her gaze was then taken by the running screen and smiled. "Ah, this movie is funny!"

Noctis turned to the tv and watched as a man ran down the stairs and stared at the girl who stood by the entrance, she smiled his way and winked at him. He laughed and walked towards her stretching his hand and pulling her to him, their lips locked, at the sight, Noctis blushed and looked at Selene who was reaching for the appetizers they had on the table.

"Say, Selene… Have you ever kissed anyone?"

"On the cheek?" She stared confused at his question as Noctis blushed and looked away.

"No..."

"Hmm, on the lips? Nope, never, why? Have you?" She hummed and crossed her arms.

He stared at her for a moment. "No..."

"Hehe, maybe someday! Do you want to play Nier: Automata? I hear it's really good." She began fiddling with his game console when Noct called her.

"Selene." As she turned his way the prince placed his lips on top of hers.

Her eyes widened as she looked into Noctis blue eyes that were staring into hers... his eyes weren't glazed by the alcohol, he was doing this of his own free will, but what did that mean?

Selene placed her hands on his chest, and Noctis knew she was going to push him away when...

Her eyes closed and she pulled him closer. The prince was shocked he had expected her to hit him, push him off, but never to return his kiss.

His heart soared at her actions, and he didn't waste time returning the kiss with the same fervor, he didn't care if she was just kissing him because she was drunk, his hands travelled across her body to rest on her waist, as his tongue entered her mouth he heard her moan against his kiss.

They parted at the loss of air, somewhere between their kisses Noctis was on top of her, and Selene beneath him. They stared at each other for a moment. They were both breathless and red as a tomato. Noct gulped and stared at her.

"Selene, I-"

She grabbed his face and pulled him down into another kiss.

She couldn't let him finish, she couldn't allow him to say it. This was the alcohol talking, they weren't sane, they couldn't be.

A tear fell from her eyes. Noctis noticed, but Selene kept kissing him. His heart ached, even though she hadn't said it, he could hear it... she wouldn't let him say it...

Noctis repressed his own feelings and nibbled on her skin, if he couldn't say it, he would prove it with actions... until the day would come, she would allow him to say it...

The next morning… she was gone…

He sat on his bed hand holding his phone as he read her message. "I'm sorry… it can't happen, Noct… blame it on the alcohol… please."

Noctis sighed and leaned against the beds stand, his eyes on the ceiling. He wished he could do as she asked, but… he couldn't because, for a long time now, he'd liked her, more than he did a friend.

AN: Hello, hello! It's been a while my friends, I hope you are all well. I give you the next part of the fifth hour! There will be one last part before the fifth hour is complete and then we shall dwell upon the contents of the game! Yay!

Hehe, and see and overjoy! My little ones have finally KISSED! It has happened! The pairing is official! But... unfortunatly for dear Noctis, Selene isn't very found of the matter of them being together... poor boy... oh, but worry not, I shall not stop there! There shall be romance I tell you! ROMANCE!

That is all my friends, see you in my next chapter! Bye!