FFXV: After the Fall

Chapter 32

   "You think the others are ready for this?" Nyx asked as he sat on the living room couch with Helena, an arm around her shoulders.
   "Yeah." She nodded. "Well- one might not be."
   "Bet I can guess who."
She smiled. "You're right. Understandable, though. I mean, he's not exactly what you'd call military."
   "Hardly. He's mostly a loud-mouthed comedian, and I don't mean that nastily. I love the guy, but..."
She looked at him. "Remind you of anyone?"
He grinned and kissed her cheek. "I guess I'll let you off with that, but only cos' I love ya." He then looked at his coffee and sighed.
"Why's he even here? That's what I keep askin' myself lately. He's gettin' stuck in as much as any of us...in his own way."
   "Simply put, cos' he believes. And, he's not about to let all of his best friends go and risk their lives alone. He's probably scared shitless, but if you asked him to stay home he'd not do it."
   "Knowin' him, he'd sneak along in the F-Type's fuckin' boot."
   "Can see it happening." She smiled.
   "I'm responsible for that."
   "Yeah." She nodded. "You are. That's half the reason he's going. You may not think it, but he looks up to you. They all do, as well as me. You're the closest thing we'll have to a military leader, a Captain, cos' you're the leader of the Glaives."
The look on his face strongly suggested that he knew.
   "This the part where you convince me to be their leader?"
That came out slightly cynically, without meaning to, and it made her turn towards him and take one of his hands in her own.

   "You already are." She told him. "You just don't wanna believe."
   "I used to, before all that went to shit as well. We've been fine as we are, we're used to being disorganised. That's how they've always rolled- and look how far they've come. They don't need me, comin' from outta nowhere, to tell 'em that. They know."
   "You're right...and wrong." She said after a pause.
He looked at her for a moment, then sighed. "...yeah."
   "Why else would you be thinkin' this? Now, of all times, right before doin' something that may result in death? Why now, when like you said, there was no need before? There's a need now, and okay, some of them might think it's a little weird for you to start ridin' the serious donkey all of a sudden...but I can guarantee that they'll all be grateful. They don't need to hear it, but when someone else sees it...and tells them that? They know it's true. I was gonna say all this to Roc, but...he won't be able to do it."
   "Yeah." Nyx said. "He always hated that stuff. Mostly cos' some of those guys never came back. I see what he means now."
   "That means, you have to. And whatever might be goin' on inside your head right now, this is the perfect time. Like anythin' else lately, you may regret it if you don't take that chance."
She then looked at her watch. Just after five.
   "Time run out on us?" He asked.
   "Almost." She then got up, heading for the door, but he stopped her and turned her around to pull her into his arms.
   "I know why you're here now." He said. "Besides all the other stuff...you're here to remind us of the most important things, in the right place, at the right time. When we all forgot, you always seem to remember. Which means..." He then took her face. "You need to stay alive, okay? Don't take too many risks. I know you'll do some cos' of that fuckin' heart attack you nearly gave me in Norduscen, but...we still need you, okay? Always."
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
   "We'll make it back. But it's not gonna mean shit to us unless you're there too. That's an order."
She smiled at him. "Yes, sir."
He grinned and kissed her, and that quickly threatened to turn into something far more passionate...but they couldn't do it now.
Time had finally caught up with them. Instead, they each silently vowed to make it a priority, along with Gladiolus who was bound to be thinking the same, so it was something to look forward to.
   "Guess I'd better assemble the troops." He smiled. "Coming?"
   "Wouldn't miss it." She also smiled, then he let go of her and opened the living room door.