After the Light (FFXV)

Chapter 14

           Noctis awoke the following morning to the crackling sound of fire, howling wind, and heavy rain. He opened his eyes and realized that he was in a cave. Iris was sitting on the other side of the fire.
"You're awake. How do you feel?" Iris asked. She made her way to his side, but didn't sit too close.
"I'm fine." He sat up and pushed his hair out of his face. "...Where's everyone else?"
"Gladdy went to find food. We're hoping Ignis and Prompto got away safely." Iris stared into the fire.
"And how are you holding up?" Noctis asked, feeling so guilty it made his stomach hurt. "I just-...I'm sorry for hurting you. When I left Gladio, he'd been chasing after you-...who we thought was you."
"It's okay. For a second there, I didn't think you were the real Noct. I've never seen that side of you, and that warp-strike definitely did a number on me... It was pretty scary." Iris said.
"Are you still-" Noctis began.
"Nothing an elixir couldn't fix. I'm A-okay." Iris smiled.
           Noctis found himself staring again, while her attention was on the fire. Ignis always said it was rude to stare...but Noctis didn't always listen to Ignis. He couldn't understand why he was constantly staring at her, or why it gave him butterflies. They had known each other since they were kids, and she had always seemed so much younger than him. Not to mention, she was the sister of one of his best friends, who also happened to be his shield.
It was strange. He started thinking about his life before he entered the crystal. Noctis and Lunafreya also met when they were kids, but then didn't see each other for another twelve years. If not for the arranged marriage that turned out to be completely unnecessary, were their paths ever destined to cross again? Even if she wasn't stabbed by Ardyn, communing with the Gods on Noctis' behalf made her ill. Would she have died young anyway? Maybe they realized it, and maybe they didn't, but they sailed in the same boat as many others, like Prompto and Iris; An innocent crush that may not be destined to get any further.
Maybe in another reality, Lunafreya was alive and well, and had a chance to spend more time with Noctis. During the last decade, Noctis came to accept that he wasn't living in that reality. He was alive, and ready to take Ardyn down again and move on with his life.
       Iris started to play with a few thick strands of her chocolate brown hair. She tilted her head slightly to the side, letting her hair fall, and started to comb through it with her fingers. Her once short hair, was now about shoulder length. When it wasn't drenched in rain water, it was soft, layered, and shiny.
Noctis' cheeks started to warm up as he blushed, but luckily for him, he was able to sit there and blame it on the fire. Not Iris. That's ridiculous. Off limits. And insanely ridiculous. He was trying to be in denial of what he was feeling. Little did he know, he was failing terribly. That wasn't the first or even the second time he'd admired her. Not that he was counting, but if he was, he'd have lost count a long time ago.
Before she had a chance to notice, Noctis turned his attention to the fire. Iris stood up and looked outside the cave.
          "Gladdy's been gone a while. We should go find him." She suggested.
           Noctis said nothing as he stood and followed her out of the cave, into the pouring rain. They were on a small beach at the edge of a forest. Some of the water was infested with rocks, and the high tide made them a little harder to point out. They didn't look sharp, but they were definitely slippery, and acted as a walkway from the cave to the sand. The larger rocks that were easiest to see, formed almost a C-shape.
The heavy wind, rain, and ice cold waves only increased the difficulty of that walk. Noctis and Iris took it one slow step at a time, and still managed to slip and stumble every few steps. The rocks weren't all together in one big patch, so they stopped when they reached the first of quite a few gaps.
Iris went first, stepping down between the rocks, letting the wave pass, and then stepping up onto the next set of rocks. Noctis tried to follow the same pattern, but when he stepped down, a much bigger wave crashed, and knocked them down.
She sat up, running her fingers back through her wet hair, pushing it out of her face. Noctis had done the same with his jet black hair, before climbing onto the rock. In their attempt to stand, a wave knocked them back down. Iris started laughing as she pushed her hair back once again.
Noctis raised his eyebrows, forming his naturally sweet expression of curiosity, as she tucked his hair behind his ears and smiled. She had a perfect view of his entire face. The wild ocean reflected beautifully in his eyes, and she found herself getting lost in them. He blushed and shifted his eyes away, occasionally glancing back at her.
His eyes eventually locked back onto hers, realizing that with her hair slicked back, her entire face was exposed. Her lips were blue from the cold, and some of her lashes clumped together from the water. She started to blush, when they were hit by another wave. It wasn't big enough to knock them over, but it did splash their faces. Iris laughed again, and Noctis smiled.

Gladio had wandered through the forest, carrying what appeared to be a small basket made out of sticks, vines, and large leaves. It was filled to the top with a small variety of fruits, and he was in the process of finishing an apple. He left the forest just in time to find Noctis and Iris walking and shivering on the sand.
"What'd you do?! Go swimming?!" He called out to them.
Noctis scoffed. "Very funny!"
"We came to look for you!" Iris said as Gladio approached them.
"You found me. Let's get back inside." Gladio gestured for them to turn around, before leading them back to the rocks.
Gladio stepped onto the first rock, let the wave pass, and then started making his way back to the cave. An aggravated Noctis and Iris watched him and then looked at each other. Gladio, who was a lot taller and way more built than them, made it look like a simple walk in the park.

  
           Some hours later, after eating, Gladio stood and walked over to the cave's entrance.
           "We need to get going." He said.
            "What's the problem?" Noctis asked as he and Iris joined him.
           The storm had gotten worse, and it was only a matter of time before the tide flooded the little cave. Gladio looked at Iris and Noctis, and then back outside.
          "Come on. Don't ask questions; just follow my lead. Noct, you need to warp to the beach." Gladio instructed.
           On his mark, Noctis and Iris followed Gladio out of the cave. It was worse than before. The waves were bigger and hit them harder, knocking them over several times. The first chance he got, Noctis warped to the beach. Gladio continued with Iris beside him, shielding her as best he could from the waves. Noctis felt anxious as he watched them.
         "Gladio!!" Noctis shouted, pointing out the large wave that was heading towards them.
          Without a second thought, Gladio scooped up Iris and started to run; stepping over the gaps easily with his long legs. As the wave got closer, Gladio lifted Iris higher and threw her towards the beach.
          "Gladdy!!!" She shrieked, as she flew through the air.
         Noctis made an attempt to catch her, but she just crashed right into him and knocked him down. Gladio was hit by the wave, which pushed him to the shore. Iris and Noctis rushed to his side, as he crawled further onto the sand and then flopped over onto his back.
        "Are you okay?!" Iris asked.
         Gladio started laughing. "Are you okay?!"
        "Not funny, Gladdy!" She pouted and hit his arm.
         Noctis quickly turned his head away as he grinned, trying not to laugh. Iris noticed and hit his arm too. Her face was red from embarrassment. Gladio raised his sand covered hand, cupped it under her chin, and pushed her squishy cheeks together. Noctis turned his head back to her and immediately started laughing.
        "Next time, you can throw me. Okay?" Gladio teased.
         For a moment, she thought about what that would look like. It was like a monkey trying to throw a gorilla. She pushed his hand away and started laughing.

         
        Iris walked ahead of Noctis and Gladio in the forest. Gladio walked in the back, keeping his distance, and an eye on both of them, though Noctis soon stopped and walked with him.
       "Problem?" He asked.
       "Back at the manor-" Noctis began.
       "Don't worry about it." Gladio held up his hand, cutting him off. "We were both fooled. Should it happen again, don't go rushing in on your own. Got it?"
         "Yeah." Noctis agreed, pleased that the incident didn't ruin his friendship with either of them.
         Iris soon stopped several feet away from what appeared to be a wall of thick vines, and full of curiosity, stared at it. Gladio and Noctis stood beside her, and examined the vines before them. Gladio summoned his sword as he took a few steps towards it. He stretched his arm forward, pushing the vines aside with his blade; revealing the entrance to a cave.
        He looked back at Iris and Noctis, and gestured for them to follow him. At least we'll be out of the rain. They entered the cave, completely unaware of what awaited them inside.