The screeching sound of his alarm clock sent Ventus flying out of bed. He shot up and scrambled to the nightstand near him, almost dropping his phone before he could silence the alarm. Rubbing his bloodshot blue eyes, he groaned when he realized it was only 5:45 in the morning.

Ventus tossed his phone to the end of his king-sized bed and threw off the plush, heavy comforter.

'If I would've known I'd need to be up THIS early,' he thought miserably, 'I might've told Tseng I don't want this assignment.'

The blond yawned, stood up, and stretched his arms above his head before reaching for his phone. To his surprise, he had an unread text message from his partner. Anxiously, he unlocked his phone, eyes scanning through the message's contents.

'I'll be there later this evening; you'll probably be asleep by then. But I'll call you this afternoon to catch up. Thanks for covering for me!'

"Ignis is gonna love this," Ven groaned, knowing he would get questioned again about his partner's absence.

Just as Ventus threw on a t-shirt and sweatpants to get his day started, he heard a soft knock on his door.

"Who is it?" He called.

When he received no answer, Ventus sighed and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he saw Ignis and Prompto, another member of the Crownsguard, standing there. Prompto was about the same height and age as Ven, with unruly blond hair, blue eyes that were lighter than his, and freckles. Unlike Ignis, who was more formal, Prompto was laid-back, easygoing, and playful.

Ventus also noted that even the other blond appeared a bit tired at this early hour.

"Good morning, Ventus," Ignis greeted respectfully. "I trust you slept well."

Stifling a yawn, Ventus said his good mornings to the pair. "I did…just not long enough," he admitted bashfully.

"You'll get some downtime today, I promise," Ignis reassured the young SOLDIER officer.

"And then," Prompto stepped forward and grinned from ear to ear, "maybe we can take you and that partner of yours on a tour of the city."

Ventus' eyes lit up. He didn't have time to explore the city when he first landed. As soon as he touched down, he met up with his driver and was immediately rushed off to the palace. It would be nice to get to explore Lucis.

"Speaking of which…" Prompto trailed off, stepping into Ven's room as if he were looking for something. "Where's this partner of yours anyway?"

Ignis raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "That's what I'd like to know."

Ventus' cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. He had no idea they'd be so pressed to get his partner in the door. "They'll be here tonight. I promise!"

"Oh, chill out, Iggy," Prompto teased, sensing the tension. "These nice people are doing us a favor. I'm sure everything is fine."

Ignis rolled his eyes while Ventus held back a chuckle.

"As long as they show up for the debriefing with the king," Ignis continued, ushering Prompto out of Ventus' room. "Prompto will stay behind, let you get dressed, and guide you to the meeting hall. After that, we're scheduled to have breakfast with the prince and the king."

Ventus ran a hand through his hair and tried to bury his nerves. "Gotcha! I'll be out in a bit."

Ignis and Prompto left Ven on his own to get ready, closing the door behind them on their way out. Once the blond was sure both men were out of earshot, he swore under his breath.

He'd always felt out of place with the high society types, feeling like they came from two different worlds. And now he was about to meet the king and his son, who was considered a hero. He wanted to make a good impression, but he always seemed to stumble over his words or put his foot in his mouth.

Before he could spiral further, he remembered what his partner told him last night when he brought up his feelings on the situation.

"You've got this, Ven. Stop being so hard on yourself. They're gonna love you - everyone does. Just relax."

Ven cracked a smile, thinking how silly he must be for questioning himself as much as he was. He'd been in SOLDIER for over four years now. In fact, he'd recently been promoted to 1st Class for all his success. There was no reason for him to be this insecure. All he had to do, was get in there, get to know the royal family, and figure out who was targeting the prince.

'Still," Ven thought to himself with a sigh, 'it would be great if Jasmine would hurry up and get here.'

Prompto launched himself into the air and crashed onto a giant leather sofa in Ignis' study. Sighing once he got comfortable, he smiled before a pillow flew went flying, smacking him right in the center of his face. When Prompto tossed the pillow aside, he glared at the man who threw it at him.

"What gives, Gladiolus? I'm just taking a break here," he pouted.

Gladiolus smirked. "You know Ignis will kill you if he sees you with your feet on his sofa. Keep 'em down."

Prompto, knowing Gladiolus was right, simply rolled his eyes. Standing well over six feet tall with an imposing physique to match, long, dark brown hair shaved on the sides, a beard, and amber eyes, Gladiolus was Noctis' official bodyguard. He also had a large birds of prey tattoo covering his entire back that extended down his arms that acted as a family crest. Being a year younger than Ignis, Gladiolus would often step in to reprimand Prompto in his stead. Even Prompto had to admit he was still way less bossy than Ignis ever was.

"In any case," Prompto shifted the conversation elsewhere, "where's Iggy?"

Gladiolus sat down in an armchair to the right of Prompto and threw his arms behind his head. "I think he's with the king and that kid from SOLDIER, right, Prince Noctis?"

The two members of the Crownsguard shifted their attention to the young man sitting across from them on a sofa identical to Prompto's. The young man was in his mid-twenties like the rest of the bunch. He was almost six feet tall and had pale skin, wildly spiked blue/black hair, and piercing, dark blue eyes. Like Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus, Noctis also had a muscular build due to his training. However, unlike the others, who were friendly and open, Noctis was more reserved than the rest, appearing generally disinterested most of the time.

"Yeah," Noctis replied with a simple shrug before turning his attention back to the book in his hands. "They should be done soon, though."

Prompto turned his attention to Gladiolus. "Hey Gladio, what did you think of Ventus?"

"Seems like a nice guy," he replied. "After all, he came highly recommended. He's on a team based out of this place called Traverse Town and helped take down some of the top guys in SHINRA and the Organization Thirteen."

Prompto was impressed. "Interesting. You can't tell all that just by looking at him. He seems like a normal guy."

"I know," Gladiolus crossed one leg over the other before turning his attention to the prince, "try to be nice, Noct. You're not exactly known for being 'Friendly Dan.'"

Noctis glared at Gladiolus before turning his attention back to the page he was reading. "I'm not gonna be rude to the guy. Calm down."

"Still," Prompto added, agreeing with Gladiolus. "I don't want you chasing him and his partner off. They'll be coming with us to meet one of your potential matches for the weekend. You need to be more open with new people."

Noctis muttered something incoherent under his breath before slamming his book shut and tossing it aside. "You guys act like I'm some jerk or something," he snapped.

"That's all we wanted from you, Your Highness," Prompto said with a rueful smile.

"You're nice to us," Gladiolus began slowly, trying to choose his words carefully. "But you know even Ignis has told you that your interpersonal skills could use some work. And you know that you can be a bit rude to new people."

Noctis remained silent and chose to take in his team's advice.

He didn't mean to come off as standoffish as he did.

He just wasn't good with people he didn't know that well.

But Noctis understood that with all these meetings with prospective brides coming up, he had to do better.

Noctis reached for his book again, making his tone much less…hostile. "I got it, guys. I promise I'll do better."

Gladiolus stood up and walked over to the prince, playfully messing up his hair. "That's what I like to hear! Maybe there is hope for you after all."

"Thank God you're here," Ventus whispered as he entered the bedroom opposite of his later that evening. He closed the door tightly behind him, ensuring it was locked and sighed in relief. "These people have been on my head all day asking, 'Where's that partner of yours?'. It's like they couldn't move forward until you showed up."

Ventus' partner, who was sitting at the vanity, laughed. "Well," she said slowly as she unbuttoned her suit jacket, "they should take it out on our boss, Tseng. He's the one who kept me busy."

The blond exhaled and collapsed into a heap on his partner's bed. "Well, who did you meet tonight, Jasmine? I know Ignis and the others are already asleep," he added, noting that it was past midnight.

Jasmine turned around in her swiveling chair and began unbuttoning her vest. She was younger than Ven (her just turning twenty-two while Ven was twenty-five), had a slender build, and stood at about five foot ten. Jasmine's skin was a rich, light brown shade, and she had dark, thick, ebony hair reaching her elbows with bangs that fell past her eyebrows. But her standout feature was her eyes which were an odd, hazel-gold color that she usually hid behind a pair of black framed glasses.

"I met with Cor, the head of the Crownsguard," she informed him. "He was nice. I guess tomorrow I get to meet the prince and the king."

"Everyone seems pretty cool for the most part. There's this guy, Ignis... he's fine too, but you can tell he's all business."

Jasmine mumbled a quiet "mhmm" as she tied her hair back into a neat bun. "Good to know. How about the prince?"

Ventus paused for a moment. "Uhhh…he was polite when I met him. He didn't say much, though."

"It's odd," Jasmine began as she recalled her briefing. "Noctis Caelum, the crown prince, is the main one who took back his kingdom after the capital was taken over years ago. He and his team are supposed to be the best of the best. If he's such a badass, I don't understand why they needed to hire us out."

Ventus rolled over on his side, propping himself up with his elbows while resting his chin in the palms of his hands. "I said the same thing. But think about it, Jaz, this kingdom still has a few enemies here and there. The Niflheim army had support not only from SHINRA, but the Organization Thirteen so they could take over. SOLDIER has always had good relations with Lucis, so I get why they wanted us."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "I don't get it, Ven. All that over some crystals?"

"The Caelum family had control over the world's most valuable crystals in the world. They're worth more than diamonds," Ven explained. "But between you and me, I heard this family operates like the mafia. They didn't start off on the up and up, if you catch my drift..."

"Ha," she scoffed, "most of these royal families don't play nice. Most super-rich people don't get that rich by doing things by the book."

Ventus had to admit - Jasmine had a point here. "But with all that going on, I can see why the king would want an extra pair of eyes on the situation. They were able to stop two assassination attempts on the prince's life, but I think they just wanted us to help find the culprit quickly."

Jasmine removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. She was tired from a long day of travel and wanted nothing more than to get a good night's rest. Especially if she had to do another round of introductions in the morning.

"Well, we're only here six weeks," she said before sneezing, "we'd better get to work."

Ventus stared at Jasmine. She seemed more out of it than usual. "Still getting over that cold?"

"Yeah," she answered, "I must have picked it up after I left Agrabah. I'm on the tail end of it, but I'm gonna wear a mask tomorrow if I meet the royal family."

"Aww. You're gonna hide that pretty face from all these eligible bachelors," he teased, earning a look of disgust from his partner. "You might actually find a husband here."

"Not a chance," she said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm just here to work, Ven. Get in, and get out quietly. That's how it is - we're never supposed to leave our mark anywhere."

Ventus gave Jasmine a look of disbelief. "You need to lighten up, Jaz."

Jasmine reached into her duffel bag and pulled out two handguns, disassembling them as she spoke. "I'll let you be the friendly one, and I'll be the mean one, just like we always play it."

The blond stared at his partner incredulously. "Okay, Miss Valentine. Still," his expression became more cheerful, "I'm glad you're here. I've had a weird feeling about this assignment since I got here."

Jasmine eyes Ventus curiously. Usually, when her partner had a hunch about something, it wasn't JUST a feeling. "What do you mean?"

Ventus struggled to try to piece together what it was that he felt. "I don't know. But there's a weird…heaviness here, even though the people I've met are fine. I know every place has its own vibe…but this one has a kind of…darkness about it."

Jasmine set down a silencer and turned around to face Ven. "I'll keep an eye out. You've never been wrong before. I don't think I'll start doubting you now."

Ventus beamed. He scrambled to his feet and rushed behind Jasmine, wrapping his arms around her before kissing the top of her head. "It feels good having my partner back...I always feel out of place in these situations."

"Stop," she tapped his forearm, "you've been helping me for years. We just balance each other out. But…"

Jasmine gently pushed Ven away and showed him to her door. "Go to bed," she instructed. "We've got a long day tomorrow, and you KNOW you're not a morning person. Don't make me come looking for you tomorrow, and don't hide to sneak in a few more minutes."

Ventus held his hands up defensively, pretending he had no idea what she was talking about. "Me? Never! I'm hurt that you'd say such a thing."

"Shut up and save it for one of your girlfriends who don't know any better."

Jasmine playfully pushed Ventus out of her room. "Goodnight, Ven."

Before he could say another word, Jasmine closed the door on him, locking it behind her as she did so.

Despite her hastiness, Ventus took no offense to Jasmine's actions. She was right. It was late, and it was clear they had a lot of work to do and a lot of people to meet.

"Fine," he smirked as he headed for his own room. "Goodnight, Miss Valentine."

Author's Note: Hi everyone! I was too busy trying to crank out this chapter that I never wrote an author's note for the first one. My bad!

A brief intro – I've been writing on this site for a very long time and have been on and off for the past few years with my bigger stories being the Heartbreakers series. And for those who've been around a while, you'll notice similarities between this story and the Heartbreakers stories.

To clarify, this story is entirely independent of the Heartbreakers series. I'm using this as its own AU moment. I realized that the original story (once it hit Sins) took on a life of its own in a semi-chaotic way, and I think it deserved to be a bit…tidier. I'm still using my OC Jasmine (not the princess from Aladdin), and there are some similar plot points, but I'm taking this in a slightly different direction (hopefully one that makes more sense) that can be a tad more realistic. I still plan on completing Bring Me the Horizon and the final story in that series, but for the longest time I've wanted to write something new and utilize characters I've not worked with in the past.

Another small note, the FF characters you see here (the ones from FFXV) are to be a combination of their original Final Fantasy Versus 13 counterparts as well as their FFXV selves. But regarding how they look and some plot points, I'd refer to the Versus 13 trailers when you view Noctis, Prompto, etc…

Another note: this story won't be as long as my main three as this story is a prequel for one that is more focused on the original Destiny Islands group. I just needed to get this out first to pave the way for what's to come (which I should have done before Sins).

In any case, I'd love to get your thoughts and see how you like this new story. Super happy to be back and I hope you're all doing well. Take care all and see you next time!