My Light

f o u r t e e n

We drove on the road for a while, just chatting away. Iris told us some stories about Gladio when they were younger and how he would always care for Iris. Then she had asked me about Noctis. How long I had known him and like at what age I had realized I had feelings for him. After a while of talking, I looked up at the sky to see an imperial ship headed towards a base. "Oh, great. Another base." I say as I roll my eyes and Akiko looks at me. "What do you mean another?" she asks and I look at her, Iris, and Aileen. "Well, you know how we didn't have the Regalia, right?" I ask and they nod. "Well, Cindy called us saying she had found the Regalia at an imperial base. We infiltrated the base, fought our way through, destroying the base, running into Ravus, and getting the Regalia back." I say and Akiko looks at me with wide eyes. "You saw Ravus?!" she asks in shock and I nod as I roll my eyes. "It was not a pleasant run in. See these bruises on my neck?" I ask her and she looks at my neck. "Oh, yeah! I meant to ask you about those. I just thought prince charming was being a bit too rough." she says and I roll my eyes at her. "No! It was Ravus who gave me these bruises. I said something about him being high and mighty for being an imperial rat, serving the enemy to hunt down Luna. He grabbed me by my throat with his metal arm and, sort of, choked me." I explain to them.

"Does it still hurt?" Iris asks me as she looks at my bruised neck.

"Only a little. I guess the soreness went down overnight." I say and she nods with a smile.

"That's good."

Aileen follows the Regalia into a small town, and we all get out of the car when we park, and walk over to the four men. "We're going to infiltrate the base." Noctis says as Iris, Akiko, Aileen, and I walk over to them. "We're coming along." I say and he shakes his head. "You stay here. If Ravus happens to make an appearance again, I don't want you anywhere near him." he says and I cross my arms. "I told you, I can handle myself." I say and he nods. "I know, Aura. Just stay here, please." he says and I look away from him. "If it makes any difference, Iris could use the company. I wouldn't want her to wait here alone." Gladio says and I look over to Iris, who has a sweet smile. "I guess we'll stay. But you promise me that you'll be careful over there. Alright?" I say to the raven haired man in front of me and he nods. "I promise I'll be careful, Aura." he says grabbing my hand and pecking my lips. "We'll be back as soon as possible." Ignis says to me and I nod. "And I'll make sure he stays safe." Prompto says as his hands grab Noctis' shoulders making me giggle. "That's my job!" Gladio interjects, making me laugh once again. "I'll see you as soon as possible, alright?" Noctis says and I nod. He leans in and pecks my lips one last time, then the four of them take off, headed to the imperial base. "Well, well, well, isn't a certain little princess happy to get true love's kiss." Akiko says and I roll my eyes at her. "Shut up! And say it a little louder, Akiko! I don't think they heard you in the next universe!" I say sarcastically and she rolls her eyes.

*~*~

It's been a while since Noctis and the others left to infiltrate the base. Nighttime already fell and the boys weren't back yet. "What could be taking them so long?" Iris asks a bit worried. "I'm sure they came up with a plan to attack at this time. That's what we did last time." I say as I lean on the car and grab my left arm. "It's more effective to attack at this time. The shadows are a good source of stealth. It could work to their advantage." Aileen says and I nod in agreement. I suddenly hear footsteps come toward us and I turn to see the four walk over to us. "Your back! Did you kick their asses?" Iris asks them and Noctis chuckles a bit. "Oh, yeah." he says making me chuckle also. "I'm gonna go check us in." Aileen says and I nod at her as both her and Ignis go to the concierge. "Told you I'd be back." Noctis says from beside me as he whispers in my ear. "And I knew you would." I say as I turn to him with a smirk on my face. "Wanna go for a walk?" he asks me and I raise a brow at him. "Is it gonna be like the last walk we took? 'Cause if it is, I might take my chances." I respond and he smirks.