(Righto! Second story ever using second person. :D….TBH this
ended up being a character study on…well, you the reader. Pfft. WILL ALSO BE A TWO PARTER! D: It’s been forever since I’ve been able to write guys, and I’ll hopefully have the second part done soon. I hope this is alright!)
It’d been a long time since you’d last seen them all. Since
before Insomnia fell to be exact. So, the invite was welcome when it’d come. A
night out with the boys at the camp site, just for friends to catch up. You
were going of course, being one of the unfortunately few survivors that got out
of Insomnia. Iris and Jared, along with Talcott, were also going. A few people
from Hammerhead were coming out as well.
It would be a small affair, but one that meant a lot to you.
You saw it as a signal that things would return to normal. After all, it wasn’t easy being the last
living member of your family. And everything you’d owned had been left in your
fallen city. A gathering of friends was just the change of pace you needed. A
night to forget about the problems being a refugee presented.
You’d been staying with Iris for the past few months, just
until you saved enough working in Lestallum to get your own apartment. Even
though Jared had assured you that you’d be welcome to stay with them if you’d
like, it didn’t feel right. They’d done enough when they had taken you out of
the city with them.
You were lucky.
You’d been Iris’ tutor in some of the subjects she was
struggling with in her high school classes. You had been going to the
university at the time, and welcomed the Amicitia’s offer of a part time job as
her tutor. Your mothers had been friends and that day, it had saved your life.
The attack happened during one of your sessions. Your mother
had been in the next room speaking with hers. It happened so fast, and both
your parents rose to protect their children. You, being of a lower name, had
been told to escort her away and OUT of the city. It had been hell, and you’d
had to cut through most of the chaos to reach the gates. Of course, it was
later, when you’d reached the city of lights, that you’d been informed of your
family’s passing.
Normal would be welcome.
You moved across your room and grabbed your jacket, carrying
it in your arms rather than put it on. It was too warm in the city, but you
figure that if you were going to be outside city limits until morning, you’d
better have it with you. Iris and the other had already gone ahead with
everything else you needed. You’d have gone with them, but the shop you worked part time in needed you to stay for a bit longer than usual. Not that it mattered. You
could still make it before the sun was completely down.
You left the room and descended the stairs, waving at the
hotel clerk as you left through the doors. As you headed to where you had last
parked, you greeted everyone and chatted as you went. It had become habit, and
though you found being greeted so warmly by strangers’ odd at first, it quickly
became a part of why you loved the city.
A small smile crossed your face as you reached the parking
lot and slipped on your jacket. Both hands found their way into your pocket,
one pulling out a pair of shaded goggles, the other pulling out your keys. You
couldn’t wait to see the boy’s reaction to what you had managed to buy, and then
get working.
Without further ado, you lifted your leg over the motorcycle
and took your seat. The engine started easily enough, and you gunned it out of
the lot, flying down the road faster than what any car could do. Or that’s what
it felt like anyways. You gauged the sun and then mapped out your route in your
head, speeding up.
You’d make it.
~
You did not make it.
Night had fallen quicker than you’d anticipated, and you
cursed your luck as you turned on your headlight. It was bright enough to light
your way, and you were certain your bike was quick enough to avoid any major
trouble. But it still made your heart beat a little faster with worry. You’d
taken off your sunglasses and returned them to your pocket so you could see a
bit better, but it was still too dark to see much beyond the headlight. You
could see the lights from the camp site ahead of you though, so you relaxed a
bit.
And thankfully the Astrals must have been smiling at you,
because you got the rest of the way unharmed. As soon as the engine was cut,
you quickly hopped up into the haven and dusted off your jacket. However, right
as you were about to greet everyone, you found yourself wrapped in a pair of
arms and tightly squeezed.
“You’re late!!” Iris squeaked, lifting you off the ground. An
Amicitia through and through, the girl had more than enough muscle to manage
that and squeeze the life out of you while she did it.
You wheezed and lightly kicked your feet. “S-sorry! Sun went
down quicker than I thought it would!”
Your arms found hers and you tried to pry her off once she
set you down. But it was hopeless as Talcott rushed the other side of you and
wrapped his around you as well, excitedly babbling about his day. Normal for a
boy his age, and hearing him set you at ease. Though you didn’t want to admit
it, you all were very attached to each other. Having lived together for the
past few month, and being survivors of the mess in Insomnia, had made you all
closer than friends. Family would have been the word to describe your
relationships with them, if the word didn’t hurt so much to think about.
“We called the hotel and they said you had left two hours
ago. We thought…” He said, a slight waver in his voice calling you back to the
present.
You sighed heavily and draped your arm over him, “I’m
alright. I would have called to let you know where I was, but didn’t dare to
once the sun went down.”
Iris squeezed you tighter for a second and then let go.
Talcott on the other hand held on. But you didn’t mind. Instead you walked
beside him as he led you to Jared, who subtly fussed over you as well. At least
he trusted your skills enough to get there unscathed. It was only after all
three had ensured you were unharmed that you could go and join the small
gathering at the campfire.
Instead of saying hi, you just plopped down in an open spot
and grinned at everyone. You had taken Iris’ spot, which no one noticed until
Iris made Gladiolus scoot over. It was only then that everyone’s eyes slowly
slid over to you and you smiled.
“Long time no see fellas.”
“Holy shit you made it.” Noctis said.
Prompto responded by lightly smacking him in the back of the
head. “At least say hi first Noct!”
“I did!”
The two proceeded to bicker back and forth, forgetting you
were there for a moment. Which was fine. Sunshine and the prince always were
easily distracted. You were used to waiting for their attention. However, you
weren’t expecting the voice that spoke next to affect you so much.
“What he meant was, it’s great to see you again.” Ignis
said, softly smiling.
You grinned and tried to brush off the sudden feeling of
breathlessness. “Likewise.”
You’d assumed that after the trauma of Insomnia, and the
ordeals you’d been through since then, that the feelings you’d held for Ignis
would have dissipated. Most other childish notions had. You were an adult in
full now, and adults didn’t get crushes. Or so you told yourself. But clearly,
by just your reaction to hearing his voice, you still liked him.
You cleared your throat after an almost unnoticeable pause
and looked across to Glaido and his sister. “I thought there were others supposed to be here?”
The shield nodded and said, “There were. But they couldn’t
make it this time. Maybe next time when we all get together.”
“And next time, we’re all staying in the hotel!” Prompto
called before getting distracted again.
You looked over to him and blinked in surprise, as he and Noctis were
busy grappling back and forth where they were seated. They were doing their
best to annoy each other by pushing and jabbing the other when they weren’t
expecting it. It was mildly entertaining seeing the two. Prompto managed to get
Noctis moving, while at the same time the prince managed to get the flighty
blond to calm down…Well, calm down as in stay in one place.
“They…always at each other like that?” you said with a
chuckle.
Ignis chuckled as well, noticing what was going on, “Unfortunately.
It gets old after a while.”
“I can imagine. God, the car rides must be terrible.” You
teased, loud enough to get the other’s attention.
“We -ow- We’re not that bad.” Noctis grumbled, trying to
protect the side of his ribs where Prompto had just jabbed.
Ignis looked at you with a raised eyebrow, as if asking ‘See what I put up with?’
And you laughed.
Somewhere in the heart of you, you knew it hadn’t been a
crush at all. It had been a seed and somewhere along the line, it had bloomed
into love. But if you still called it a crush, you’d hoped the feelings would
fall away. Or at least make it easy to suppress. Because unfortunately, just
the feeling of your returning crush was enough to tip you backwards into the
past. It made you nostalgic. Just hearing his voice took you back to Insomnia.
To memories you simultaneously treasured and wanted to forget. There was a knot
in your throat that you barely managed to swallow down, and you yawned to cover
up the burning you felt in your eyes.
You still had not dealt with your grief. You didn’t know how
to.
Gladio whistled lowly at what Iris had said and caught your
attention, pulling you out of your thoughts before you wound up crying in front
of everyone thankfully. Iris was talking about what life had been like, and
what you had been up to in Lestallum. Hearing your current life grounded you
back in the present. You let her speak for you, not fully trusting your voice yet,
only correcting small details when you had to.
“-sometimes when she’s getting back from a hunt, she’d so
banged up we don’t let her near her bike for a week!” Iris finished, and you
gave an embarrassed laugh, finally joining back in the conversation.
“That’s only happened twice.” You countered, trying to keep
your face from turning red.
“And counting.” Talcott added with an innocent smile.
“Hey!”
“Bike?” Prompto frowned, cutting in. “Bike as in…?”
You coughed and turned away, not meeting anyone’s gaze as
you replied. “Motorcycle.”
“Aren’t those kind of…” Prompto said with a concerned look
on his face, “…dangerous?”
“It got me here didn’t it? And what isn’t dangerous these
days?” You laughed it off, playing it as a joke, and everyone, thankfully, let
it slide, returning to brighter topics.
You knew the risks of riding a motorcycle. Considered dangerous
for their lack of protection in the case that their riders should wreck. (You’d
experienced that first hand plenty of times while learning.) Also, the high
speeds one could attain on one was also many peoples concern. And that was inside
a brightly lit city. Outside the city? Easy pickings for a Daemon. What you’d
run into a lot of was people worried for your health, both mental and physical,
for choosing to ride your bike. But the speed was worth it. You could drive
from Galdin Quay to Lestallum in half the time it’d take a car.
Plus, what was a little danger these days? Just by being a refugee from Insomnia you were always in a bit of danger.
You didn’t try jumping back into the conversation after that, becoming
muted once more. You simply sat back and enjoyed being with the others again. And the didn’t seem to notice. So you considered everything alright.
(But you couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was staring at you. And if you
had happened to look to your left, you’d have seen a pair of green eyes
watching you.)
Imagine Final Fantasy 